Sunset: Vampire Academy fanfiction!
by Muse-icfan756
Summary: This is a book about a girl called Amy who thought she was a human but is now at the Academy training with Rose to be a guardian.
1. Chapter 1         Beginnings

I flicked on my iPod and set the band to Muse, putting it on random. I welcomed the heavy bass and whining guitar in my ears as Matt Bellamy sang his usual, slightly gothic, rock music. It was bliss. I shoved my hands in my pockets and shivered against the cold. It was -2C in South East England and the snow was beginning to fall. I seemed to have a better resistance to the cold than everyone else, so I walked home in just my school uniform: my shirt, kilt, jumper and blazer. Not piled high with vests and hats and coats like everyone else. I'd walked half the way home with a couple of friends, but the further away we got the more our numbers dwindled from the original five to just me. I lived about a mile from the school, which was closer than most. I went to an all girls grammar school, so students came by bus and train from all over the county.

As I trudged through the alleyway that led to my house, I remembered my Mum telling me not to go down there. "You don't know who you might meet," she said, referring to murderers and paedophiles. However it was quicker than the longwinded route and I wanted to get home fast so that I could get my homework done and watch X Factor. It was ironic how, just as I was thinking that nothing would happen to me, a person appeared behind me. At first I ignored him; it was just another guy living in this area. No biggie. However, as he began to close in on me, I got the feeling he was following me. I picked up the pace a bit, and he followed suit. I continued doing this until I was almost at a run. My feet seemed to blur beneath my eyes. I tried to stay underneath the streetlamps, and I could feel my fists balled up beside me. Suddenly, the man appeared in front of me. It was strange how he was so fast, but I ignored him and tried to push fast. He wouldn't let me go. I pulled out an earphone and could hear the loud music blaring through.

"Excuse me," I muttered, "you're blocking the path." He laughed and I looked up at him. Something about him intimidated me. Maybe it was his height that seemed to loom and cast shadows over my measly 5 ft 3inches. Maybe it was because his skin was deathly pale. Maybe it was because he was so fast. Or maybe it was just because the crimson lines surrounding the pupils of his ocean blue eyes were beginning to creep me out. What ever it was, I shuddered. He seemed to notice and chuckled again, his sandy hair blowing in the light breeze. He strode towards me and I took a frightened step back. This continued until I was pushed out of the light against a wall. I cowered against it. _No,_ I thought, _be strong. Don't be afraid._ With that thought, I pulled back my fist and snapped it towards his face with as much force as I had. I felt it make contact with his nose, but he seemed as solid as rock. He seemed surprised that somebody like me would punch him. I had to admit, I looked young for my face. My chestnut brown hair was flowing in soft waves to my elbows and I had slid in an Alice band. My face was quite round, giving it a childlike look, and I was only average height. My friends said I was blessed to look young, but I'd rather not be rejected from seeing certificate 12 movies when I was 14, thank you very much.

However, my punch didn't seem to faze him. Instead, he cracked a smile, revealing sharp pointy teeth that looked suspiciously like fangs. I blinked twice, sure my eyes were deceiving me, but they were still there.

"Don't fight, little girl. I won't hurt you," he murmured.

"Stay away from me!" I growled. Instead he pulled me towards him, pulling my hair back to expose my neck. I struggled against his vicelike grip, trying to knee him in the groin. He bent down so his lips touched my neck, then the parted and his fangs dug into my body. I shrieked as they pierced my skin, but it turned into a moan of pleasure. It was one of the most wonderful feelings I'd ever had. Part of me remained sanity and screamed at me: _This creepy psycho dude is drinking your blood! What are you doing?" _But I couldn't help myself. It was so wonderful. As my eyes started to close, two more people, a man and a woman, arrived on the scene. A glint of silver caught my eye and suddenly I was ripped away from the vampire. He flung me against the wall and black and white spots flashed in front of my eyes as a searing pain ripped through my skull. I slumped to the floor and passed out.

When I re-opened my eyes, the two new people were bending over the body of the vampire. A silver stake had been jammed into his heart and they were discussing somebody: Me. I caught slivers of the conversation.

"...they don't usually hunt this early...I know it's dark...she's only young," the woman was arguing with the man. Suddenly she turned to look at me. I feebly tried to lift my head and tenderly touched my skull. I could feel a large bump forming there. Her figure suddenly blocked out my vision.

"What did you think you were doing?" she asked me, angrily.

"Rose, be careful. She's just been attacked and thrown against that wall pretty badly. I'm surprised there's no blood," the man chastised. Rose knelt beside me and the man began to examine my head.

"Are you sure it's her?" she asked.

"Hmm...Long brown hair, hazel eyes, about 13.."

"I'm 14 actually!" I protested. He continued anyway.

"Lives in this area. What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because we just saved your life, idiot!" Rose chimed in.

I gritted my teeth. "Amy. Amy Toran."

"Yep. It's definitely her then. You win." He grinned and she glared playfully before turning back to me. "You're coming back with us to St. Vladimir's Academy."

"Sorry?" I had no idea what they were talking about.

"You know. The school where you can be with others of your kind."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Rose, calm," the man began, placing his hand on Rose's arm to stop her shaking. "I know you've been hurt, but you need to come with us." I shook my head.

"I honestly have no idea. What us St. Vladimir's Academy? Already have a school."

"Hmmm..." he mused. "It seems this conversation may take a while. Can we come back to your house?"

"Fine," I grumbled, trying and failing to get up. He swept me up in his arms and started going in the wrong direction. I giggled and pointed it out to him. I could swear that I saw a hint of jealousy in Rose's eyes, but then her face was calm and composed, matching his. She watched us the whole way home.


	2. Chapter 2                   Explanations

I unlocked the door dizzily and stepped inside the house. I slipped out of my shoes and slung my bag on the floor before heading up to my room. The others followed suit. I hung up my blazer and slumped onto my bed. Rose joined me stiffly but the man, whose name I still didn't know, stood erect by the door. I grabbed a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap, twisting the lid in between my fingers.

"So," I began. "Who are you?"

"I am Rose Hathaway," sighed Rose, "and this is Dimitri Belikov. We are guardians from St. Vladimir's Academy." She gestured to Dimitri standing in the corner. I really looked at them now. She was similar to me, but a few years older. Maybe eighteen or nineteen. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail which trailed down her spine and wispy bits of hair fluttered around her pretty face. Her eyes were a pale brown but had a fierce look to them. In her jeans and black hoodie, she looked ready for anything. Dimitri was gorgeous. He had chin-length brown hair and a perfectly chiselled face with a light shadow over his chin. I could tell that underneath his thick black jumper would be lots of muscle. He seemed strong and protective, yet soft and gentle at the same time. He looked a couple of years older than Rose. She'd got good with grabbing him.

"Ok. So, where is St. Vladimir's Academy?"

"Montana, USA. It's a school for Moroi and dhampirs. You're a dhampir." I wasn't entirely sure I believed her, but after today's event with the vampire dude, I was okay with it.

"What is a dhampir?" I took a swig of water, but almost spat it back out on her next words.

"Half human, half vampire." Dimitri was right beside me, patting my back so that I wouldn't choke. I swatted his hands away. I couldn't believe how casually she said it.

"Half human, half vampire. You expect me to believe that I'm half vampire?" They nodded. "Oh come on! I'm not that gullible! Vampires don't exist...right?" I was suddenly not so sure.

"They do. Good and bad vampires."

"Good and bad vampires?" I raised an eyebrow sceptically. It sounded like a horror movie gone wrong. Dimitri took over.

"You were attacked by an evil vampire. They're called Strigoi."

"Strig-what?"

"Strigoi. They are Moroi, dhampirs or humans gone evil."

"What are Moroi?"

"They are good vampires." Rose sighed impatiently at the information she'd had drilled into her since she was young. Moroi were at this school, and dhampirs trained to protect them from Strigoi. Apparently I was a dhampir, and that was why I didn't get ill or cold so much. Apparently I was stronger and faster with better reflexes than human. The only part that really troubled me was going to the academy.

"How can I leave my family?" I asked. "My Mum and all these people who've cared for me? What will I do? And my school. I'm going to be an architect, not a guardian. I'm top of my class!"

"Well, you're gonna have to," Rose stated simply.

"Er, you're forgetting one thing," Dimitri added. They shared a silent look.

"What?" I demanded.

"They're not your family."

I blinked out of my stupor.

"N-not my family?" I stammered out.

"No." He kept his face calm.

"Well. That's new."

"She seems calm," he whispered to Rose.

"You wait," she replied, staring at me as the thoughts began to form in my head. If she wasn't my mother then...then...

"Oh my God! She's not my mother? You mean I went through all that for nothing! I can't believe this!" I was suddenly outraged. My parents had divorced when I was about eight, my father leaving my mother to look after me and my younger brother alone. I'd been through so much trouble with it, and then they weren't my family? It was insane. Unreal. Dimitri and Rose watched my outburst patiently, waiting for it to blow over. It soon did. "So, if she's not my Mum, who is?"

"Well," Dimitri began, "all dhampirs have a Moroi parent and a dhampir parent. Your Mum was a brilliant guardian, but she didn't want you in the academy until you turned thirteen. The problem is, your adopted mum didn't want to let you go. That's why you moved last year. But we've found you now."

"Do you...do you know my father?"

"No. Sorry. Not many dhampirs do."

"Well, why did my mum not want me?" I was seriously offended by this.

"She didn't want to quit her guardian job, so we told your adopted mother about moroi and dhampirs etc and she promised to keep you until you were thirteen." Well. This was new.

"So," Rose wondered. "Are you coming with us?" There was a bang downstairs and I could hear my adopted brother Sam chatting away to 'Mum' about what he did in football club this evening.

"Honey?" Mum called tentatively. "Are you home?"

"Yeah ,Mum!" I answered. "I'm in my room doing homework." Well, I wasn't really. That had been postponed. To a probable never. I heard her climb the stairs and I braced my self as Rose and Dimitri stood beside me. My door creaked open to reveal her in her work outfit.

"Oh," she breathed. "Who's this?"


	3. Chapter 3          Leaving

"Um, these are my friends, Mum," I gestured to them.

"They look a little too old for you to be hanging out with."

"Well, yeah, they're from America. Montana actually."

"Are you hanging out with tourists?" she asked warily.

"No. They're um," I looked at them for help.

"We're from St. Vladimir's Academy," Dimitri stated.

"No," 'Mum' mouthed. "It can't be."

"I'm sorry, but you've had her a year later than necessary."

"But I love her! I can't let her go and lose her life fighting evil! She's intelligent and has a great life ahead of her. You're corrupting her innocence!"

"Mary. Listen. It's her destiny. She has to go. She wants to."

"Do you. Really?" I nodded meekly and she shook her head, exasperated. "No. I want let you. I'm your mother and what I say goes." My fuse blew.

"You're not my mother!" I yelled. "You have no relation to me whatsoever! You kept this from me, but I want to go! It'll be more interesting than this boring life!"

"But you were going to be an architect." Her voice had lowered to a whisper.

"Not anymore. I'm going with them." I grabbed my suitcase which I'd used so few times and started tossing clothes, my phone, cd's, books, everything into it.

"I bought you that! You can't take it!"

"I can! I If you love me so much you'd let me take it." I zipped up the back and shrugged on my warmest jumper. I started descending, grabbing a fistful of notes from my money box and my coat from the hook. I was about to twist my keys in the door when she stopped me. I spun around. She looked so hopeless.

"Please, Amy. Please don't go."

"I have to Mum. I'm sorry. But we'll keep in contact, you know. You're the only one that gets a goodbye." I slipped on my shoes and she grabbed me. Her hug morphed into a grab around my waist. It was the strongest I'd ever seen her. Dimitri and Rose pried her off of me but she reached again.

"Please," Dimitri pleaded. "You have to let her go."

"No!" she screeched, her voice breaking. I could feel the tears dripping from my eyelashes.

"I'm sorry." Then Rose grabbed a shoe and smashed it over her head. Her face went blank and she collapsed into a heap on the floor.

"What did you do? You can't just leave her like that!" I exclaimed, shocked. I dragged her to the sofa and rested her there, tucking a cushion under her head. I planted a kiss on her forehead and hoped that Sam wouldn't discover her anytime soon. Then, I walked out the door, slamming it behind me. I set off, off to my new life.


	4. Chapter 4    Journey

I sat on the plane, squashed between them. I was the smallest and the one they wanted to keep from running. Not that they'd have much trouble. I'm not stupid enough to just jump out of the window. I grabbed an orange juice carton and sucked it through the straw, nibbling at it with anxiety. We were flying to America on the Academy's private jets. I had brought my iPod and a book. I flicked open the first page and plugged in my headphones, making sure it was full volume. About five minutes later, I had a pat on my shoulder. I took out an earphone.

"I can hear that, you know," Rose was complaining.

"So?" I replied, antagonistic. I was in an understandably bad mood.

"She reminds me of a younger version of you!" Dimitri laughed.

"I was never like that. I was much more naughty," Rose grinned.

"Is that possible?" I ignored their playful bickering and restarted the song. It was my favourite and I'd missed the first minute now. There was a flick on my arm.

"What now?" I moaned.

"Do you really not know anything about the Academy?" Rose wondered.

"No. I've been living my life assuming that I was human."

"Well, it's really great, I guess." Dimitri gave her disbelieving look which made me think that she hadn't enjoyed it as a kid.

"_I _think it's really great. Rose thinks it's a waste of time if it's not combat training," he interjected.

"Well, it is. So what about Maths and science. It's not like I'm gonna become a biologist. Come on!" He laughed again and she probed me more. "Well, the head teacher, she's really, really nice. She only joined this year actually, but she didn't need training. She just finished the school herself." Great. I was going to have an untrained, incompetent teacher who was only a few years older than me. "But, well, I'm bonded to her."

"Bonded to her?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I can feel her emotions. You see, all Moroi have an element they can use. And she has spirit. She can use super compulsion, and I can read her mind. Pretty useful when you're guarding her. I'm surprised she even let me leave to come and get you. She must really want you in the school." Great. I was 'wanted'. I think Dimitri must've seen my withering expression because he said, "You should get some sleep." I'd never been able to sleep on planes, and I knew I couldn't now. I instead sat in silence, watching them. The both seemed far away, as if they were remembering other times they might've had on planes. Rose was absentmindedly fingering a small silver ring on her finger. It seemed to almost glisten, and I wondered about the story behind it.

The rest of the trip passed in a blur. As we descended, I gritted my teeth and tried to focus on anything but the ripping pain through my skull. Yesterday's Strigoi encounter didn't help that. Or was it earlier today? I hugged my knees to my chest and pressed my head into my hands. I could hear them talking next to me, but the buzzing in my ears blocked out most of the noise. Finally, we landed. I stepped off of the plane a little woozily. The wrought iron gates rose high above me. Dimitri reached for a key and slowly creaked open the gates...


	5. Chapter 5        Entrance

I stared in awe at my surroundings. There was so much land, and it was covered in fluffy snow. A couple of students wandered through the area, hiding behind trees and dripping with snow. The large building looked ancient and modern at the same time, if that was possible. Several small buildings surrounded it. We walked up to the main doors and pushed through. Inside it was a maze of hallways. I could hear chatters coming from further down the main corridor, and several doors were opening to reveal adults who were most likely teachers. People in black, guardians I presumed, lined the area, standing perfectly motionless yet looking ready for action. We passed a hallway and suddenly I found myself in a professional looking room. The walls were a mature cream, and a pine desk was beside a bay window. The lights were bright as it was dark outside and the whole room was full of potted plants, one of which was beginning to wilt. A fairly tall, young woman with long blonde hair was standing by the plant in a pale green blouse and some smart black trousers. Suddenly she reached out to touch the plant and it grew perfect, pink flowers bursting into bloom. She clapped, turned around and clapped her hand to her mouth.

"Oh! I didn't hear you come in!" she exclaimed in a silky voice. Her face was beautiful and she had pale jade eyes to match her top. She was beautiful.

"Lissa," Rose chastised. "You shouldn't do that." My eyes were fooling me. Surely she didn't just make the plant grow with her hands?

"It's OK, Rose. I'll be fine. Who's this?" She gestured to me, smiling.

"Um, I'm Amy Toran?" I said it like a question.

"How wonderful! Thanks, you two. So, you're from England?" She was just like a bubbly teenager.

"Uh, yeah." This was uncomfortable.

"Great! Well, welcome to St. Vladimir's Academy! Your schedule will be given to you as soon as possible. Being a dhampir you'll be a novice guardian so, well, you'll have your morning lesson with the Moroi and then your afternoons will be combat training. We'll have to do something about the years you missed..." She trailed off, staring intently at Rose.

"You have got to be kidding me," Rose groaned.

"Please! Remember how grateful you were to Dimitri for helping you? She needs to learn. You know how important this is to the guardians to have another female novice." According to them, female guardians were rare as they often left to look after their kids or live in small communes in disgrace. There was a shortage of guardians anyway so female guardians were useful. "Besides," she added. "She reminds me of a younger you."

"Ugh! Dimitri said that too! I'm me! Not anyone else! Especially not some stupid child from England!" Ouch.

"Rose. Listen to me." She turned the full force of her eyes on her. "You will be her mentor. You will train her everyday in extra sessions. I'm the headmistress and I say that you must."

"Lissa," Rose began again, "you know I- okay. Fine." I stared wide-eyed. Were they sharing some mental connection? Lissa's eyes seemed to glow as she stared at her. I turned to Dimitri and he seemed slightly surprised himself. Was this usual? They didn't seem to remember we were here.

"Can I get some sleep?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Of course. The day is just beginning but certainly, go ahead. Rose will take you to your dorm room."

"Thanks, 'cause I've got really bad jet lag." Wait. Did she say the day was just beginning? My groggy mind couldn't figure it out so I saved it for later. We parted and Rose marched me to the dorm room in silence. More students were piling out of the main building now. I wondered where they were going. After a while, I summoned up some courage.

"So, what does she mean 'be my mentor'?"

"It means that she wants me to give you one-to-one personal training." Oh. Fabulous. I'd never been particularly great at fighting. My punch in the alley was my biggest achievement and that didn't gain me much. She cracked a small smile with a slightly evil twist at my silence, and then we were suddenly in the warm. I realised we'd entered a small lobby. Two people were kissing on the sofa in the corner, and a man on duty was flipping through a book. He seemed shocked to see us. Rose spoke to him for a second and they chatted together. I noticed how he called her Guardian Hathaway, although he always said how he had to remind himself that he couldn't give detention to staff as he though she was still a student here. Somehow she found that funny. She led me up two flights of stairs and down a small hallway and we stood outside a door marked 52.

"Here's your room. See you tomorrow," she said stiffly, and with that she left. I was beginning to doubt whether I wanted her as my mentor. Dimitri seemed a lot nicer. I shoved open the door and locked it behind me. It smelt fresh and new, like a hotel room. It was fairly small, with a single bed in the middle. I plonked myself down on the cerulean blue duvet and looked around. On the back of the door was my timetable, which I would look at some time later. I had a pine wardrobe and a small desk. I felt exhausted. I unlaced my trainers, and then lay back on the bed. Seconds later I drifted into a heavy, dreamless sleep.


	6. Chapter 6 First day

When I awoke, I sat up slowly. My head was throbbing, but my mind seemed a bit clearer. My bones were stiff and I realised I'd fallen asleep in my school uniform from two days ago. Not good. Why hadn't I changed? I climbed out of the twisted covers and checked my watch. 5.30pm. I'd missed the whole day. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, and my stomach rumbled, indicating it was time for dinner. I began unpacking my suitcase, setting my laptop against the desk and roughly putting my clothes on hangers. I then selected what I wanted to wear (a hoodie and some jeans) and checked the map I found on my bedside table. The bathroom was a few doors down. I padded outside and saw nobody else about. I hoped I hadn't broken curfew or anything. The bathroom door was clearly marked, and inside I saw several separate cubicles. It seemed that I shared this bathroom with the other seven girls on my side of the corridor. There was another one opposite. I dumped my clothes on the side and grabbed my shampoo, heading for one of the showers. It steamed around me, soothing my aching body. I rubbed carefully around my lump that was forming on my head and scrubbed myself clean. I tugged on my clothes and brushed my teeth. I then headed back to my room. It was almost 6.30pm now. I'd wasted a lot of time in the shower. I brushed through my hair and tied it up to keep it out of the way. After I'd made my bed and pulled open my curtains to reveal the starry sky, I referred to my timetable. What I saw was interesting. I suddenly noticed what was odd. We ran on a nocturnal schedule because, ah, that was it. Moroi were sensitive to sunlight. Not that it would make a difference in the weather around here. Breakfast was at 7pm. That gave me about half an hour. I studied the schedule carefully. It was confusing how I was in ninth grade, considering I'd just finished year nine back in England. A freshman, this was called. Weird. My schedule read:

Breakfast -7pm-8pm

Art-8pm-9pm

Biology-9pm-10pm

Break- 10pm-10.15pm

English Literature- 10.15pm-11.15pm

Economics- 11.15pm-12.15am

Lunch-12.15am

Combat training- 12.15am-2.15am

Then, scribbled beneath it in pencil was: extra training- 2.15am-3.15am. Wow. These people worked fast. From then I had:

Study time- 2 3.15am-6.30am

Dinner-6.30am-7.30am

Free time- 7.30am- 9.30am

Curfew-9.30am

Below it were some notes on when the library was open, what rooms I was in etc. I grabbed it off the wall, stuffed it into my pocket along with my map and donned my beanie. I stuffed my feet into my trainers and headed downstairs. The hallway was now filling with students. Female dhampirs from my dorm. Ages ranging from about fourteen to seventeen. Obviously the senior students had their own dorm. When I walked past, the whole area went silent as they watched me. I ignored them and wandered off on the path, probably in the wrong direction, until I was out of sight, where I unfolded my map. I was right, I was in the totally wrong direction. I turned around, tugging my beanie over my ears. It was about -7C out here and I was freezing in just my hoodie. I turned and jogged up to the main building, eager to get into the warm. I pushed open the double doors and headed to where my map was pointing me. I pulled my hat off my head and stuffed that into my other pocket where it bulged. I pushed open yet another door and was greeted by a buzzing noise of students chatting around tables. The chatter suddenly stopped as people's heads turned to swivel towards me. I imagined what they were seeing. A fairly average sized girl. Lightly tanned skin, even in winter, with long chestnut brown hair pulled up into a confident high ponytail. Slight curves even obvious with my young age. I wanted to put off a laid-back air. A bit like Rose, I guess, though I'd never admit that. Back in England I'd been a softy, known for being kind, a bit wimpy and not violent at all. That was about to change.

I watched their eyes for a second before heading over to the food counter. There were lots of different foods on display. Doughnuts. Cereals. Hot chocolate. Pressed orange juice. I couldn't choose. I was just grabbing an éclair, when I felt a pat on my shoulder. What was it with Americans? Did they all do that? I spun around to see a tall girl who looked about my age. She had fair skin, which made me think she was a Moroi. She had a dusting of freckles over her nose and curly brown hair to her chin. It made her look cute, and the expression her pale green eyes were giving off was shocked.

"Oh. My. God. You're the new girl, aren't you? Hi. I'm Jillian-Jill. I mean, just Jill. Not both. Jillian's my full name. Jill's what everyone calls me," she gabbled, intrigued by every movement I made. I laughed.

"Yeah, I'm from England. I'm Amy. Amy Toran."

"Mastrano. I mean, that's my surname."

"Yeah, I gathered." I took a bite out of my éclair, still smiling, and licked the cream from around my mouth.

"So, you're going to be a guardian. I mean, that's really cool. I'm an air user. I did a bit of training with Christian Ozera. He's here actually. A teacher, I mean. He teaches people how to use their Moroi magic. He's a good friend of Rose Hathaway. She helped me too. And Lissa. And Adrian. He's also here. Teaching Art. Is it true that Rose is your mentor? 'Cause that's really cool!"

"Yeah. She is. I don't think she likes me though." Jill led me over to a table. I wondered if she had any other friends.

"Well, maybe you need to get used to her. She was always getting into trouble and stuff. She's a real rebel. Lucky they let her become a guardian. Although she's good enough. She has about twenty or more _molnija _marks." I'd been told about _molnija _marks. Every time a guardian killed a Strigoi they got one. "She's gone down in history. She killed almost all of those Strigoi before she even graduated! She's so amazing. You should've seen her trials. The best results ever. And they made it harder for her. A mission impossible situation." Wow. I was being taught by the best of the best.

"Whoa." The breath whooshed out of my mouth from how much I was in awe. That was an amazing feat. I looked up and saw that it was almost 8pm. "What do you have first?"

"Art."

"Same!" Thankfully I had a familiar face already. We headed to the room. I took in a deep breath, braced myself, and walked through.


	7. Chapter 7  Lessons

The teacher didn't look much like a teacher. He had stylishly messy brown hair and piercing emerald eyes. He was wearing a checked shirt and jeans and was starting a new canvas. Most of the class was already in place. As we passed, he called to Jill.

"Hey, Jailbait!" he proclaimed! "How are you this morning?" Jailbait seemed like a weird nickname. Before she could answer, he asked, "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Amy Toran, Mr Ivashkov," I said simply.

"Adrian, little dhampir, Adrian."

"Little dhampir?" I narrowed my eyes.

"It's what I used to call your mentor, Rose. She's not so little anymore. You remind me of her."

"Everyone says that. We're nothing like each other."

"That's what you think," Jill muttered as we sat in our seats. Art was...interesting. I'd always been very creative and I wanted to be a architect. Well, I had wanted that. I hoped that I was better at fighting. After the lesson Adrian pulled me to the side.

"So." he said simply.

"So?" I asked dubiously.

"Rose is your mentor."

"Yeah."

"Well. Be warned. She's, well, a heartbreaker." Oh. Great. He was now going to tell me about his love life. I decided I need to stop it right there.

"And? So what. I've heard that she's a good fighter."

"She's a brilliant fighter. She's in the history books. Youngest person ever to kill a Strigoi. She took part in the massive battle here last spring. She's got countless molnija marks. You are luckier than you think, little dhampir."

"I need to go to next lesson." I still wasn't quite sure why he'd called me aside. I headed to my next lesson. I grimaced as I saw my next lesson. Biology. Jill hadn't waited for me and she wasn't in my next class, so I grabbed a seat at the back of the room, hoping people wouldn't stare at me. The lesson passed without incident. Thankfully I had one of my favourite lessons next, but I was stunned when I saw the teacher. Lissa. The headmistress. She smiled at me and I slid into my seat, flustered. The lesson was normal. We did a bit of writing, and I'd been good in English at my previous school, so I didn't need to catch up with anything. Lissa seemed pleased with my work and I saw some looks of approval from my fellow classmates. Hah. Or not. At the end of the lesson a Moroi girl with perfectly straight blonde hair strode right up to me and pressed her hand against my chest. Well, poking me really. Lissa watched, intrigued. I pushed her hand away.

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"No, what are _you_ doing?" she answered.

"Trying to get out of the door. Which you are standing in." The entire class was watching now. I looked towards the back of the room and saw three guardians; one of whom was Rose. Huh.

"No. What are you doing here, human?" she sneered.

"I'm not human." I was gritting my teeth and I felt my hands balled up in fists by me side.

"Well, you were in the human world. With your stupid adoptive mother and your little human brother."

"They are good people. No question. I need to get to next lesson."

"What? Afraid you'll be late?" That did it. Her smile was mean and because she was taller, she looked down on me, which didn't help. I'd never been amazingly violent before, but my fist snapped out like when I was against the Strigoi. I hadn't had any training, but I still made her nose bleed. Lissa and the guardians ran forward, but I was sure that when I caught Rose's eyes, she had the slightest hint of a smile on her face. Lissa bent down next to the girl, whose name was apparently Becca. The guardians grabbed me, although it only took one. I wasn't putting up a fight. Rose took me to Lissa's office and sat me in the chair.

"Technically, I should be mad at you. That was uncalled for." she studied me.

"What? She was teasing me."

"Which is why I'm praising you. Your punch was sloppy and you completely failed. I don't even think you broke her nose." Yeah. Great praise. "However, that was entertaining. And, honestly, I would've done the same thing. Suddenly she stiffened and her face went void of emotion. Lissa had entered the room and she looked mad...

**Guys, do you like this story? Please review it! P.S: I'm new to FanFiction, where do I find the reviews? lol**


	8. Chapter 8          Spirit

"What did you do?" she asked through gritted teeth. I wasn't entirely sure of how to say the answer. She saw the entire thing.

"I, um, punched her?"

"Well, I gathered that! But why?"

"She was antagonizing me."

"You can't just go around punching people! You. Can. Not. Do. That." Her eyes seemed to cool though her face was still rigid with lines of fury that look strange on her gentle face. "You won't do that again, will you? Promise me," I felt it take over me. The urgent need to follow her orders. But I shook it off.

"She was being mean about my family! I had every right to do it!" Suddenly, in my vision, I saw a spider crawling up my leg. I batted at it, squealing. It wouldn't go away. I looked up at the other two. Lissa was wearing a grim smile and Rose looked totally confused. She put her hand out to her.

"Lissa," she asked carefully, "what are you doing?"

"Spiders," Lissa whispered eerily. "She's seeing spiders." In that moment, another spider came crawling up my other leg. I jumped back and tried to shake it off, transfixed in Lissa's gaze.

"Lissa, you shouldn't do that. This, this is nowhere near as bad." She seemed to be having terrible memories of a time like this before.

"It doesn't matter. She did it wrong and won't obey me."

"You can't use compulsion on everyone. This is spirit darkness. Give it to me." The thought of her 'giving darkness' to her almost shocked me out of my state. But it didn't. She pressed her hand to Lissa's shoulder and suddenly Lissa's face smoothed, becoming soft and gentle again. The spiders disappeared. Rose stayed pretty similar to before, except she fidgeted about and I could see her begin to lose it. I picked up a cushion.

"You don't mind, do you?" I asked Lissa, holding up the cushion. It had a floral design on it, which I wasn't too fond of. Too late if she wasn't. I held up the cushion slightly in front of me and Rose got what I was saying immediately. She punched the cushion. Hard. The force of it nearly bowled me over. I reached out one hand to grab the desk and didn't see her next punch coming. It moved towards my face and I realised that right now, I was just a target, not a person. I ducked down, catching the blow on my shoulder and taking it easily. Suddenly, Rose slipped a silver stake from her pocket. It had geometric designs around the rim and glinted in the light. She started charging towards me and my instincts shot the pillow out of the side of me. She headed for it, and Lissa jumped up. Too late. The stake pierced the pillow, showering stuffing everywhere. I fell back onto the comforter I hadn't seen before. Lissa pressed her hand to Rose's forehead.

"This isn't you. Remember. This isn't you," she murmured firmly. Rose shook her head wildly, like an out of control child. "Please. This isn't you." More urgent now. Rose began to reach for her stake again, which was stuck in the pillow, when she suddenly seemed to grasp the situation. Without me even realising, she was in Lissa's arms. Funny, considering she was the guardian and all, but it didn't matter too much. It was silent for a long time. Something inside me told me to interrupt so that it wasn't awkward, but I couldn't bring myself to ruin this moment. Rose might lash out if I did. Finally, Lissa spoke up.

"I do apologise for what I did. I was out of control." I nodded. "However, you should be punished. Rose, what would you do?" Rose had returned to her position by the door, and looked at me now.

"I would pretend to tell her off, and send her back to class. I think it's funny."

"Hmm, well, don't do it again." This was some pathetic telling off, but what could you expect form an 18 year old head teacher. She waved me off. "Go to Economics." It surprised me that she seemed to know my schedule, but I headed off anyway. The teacher for Economics wasn't very nice. He yelled at me for being late and set me loads of revision. It was so unfair, and I was relieved when it ended. I was starving! In the canteen, I smelt tuna wafting my way. I screwed my nose up. _Fish._ Over in the cold food area, I spotted a BLT. I snatched it gladly, and bagged a seat. Jill soon joined me, picking at a salad whilst I munched my sandwiches. I felt greedy next to her, but I never seemed to get any bigger when I ate, so I just ate whatever I wanted. She hadn't been in Economics, so we chatted about that. The gossip about me was spreading fast. I heard snippets of conversation from the table behind us.

"...Just like her mentor!...Ridiculous...interesting. I'd like to..." It annoyed me that I couldn't hear it all, but I felt smug that I'd already made my mark on this place. However, when the bell rang, my stomach squeezed. Combat training.


	9. Chapter 9 Combat

I'd dressed for training, so I went straight through to the gym. I missed the familiar feeling of a bag on my shoulders, and it felt odd walking around without one. In the gym, we met our teacher. He was called Guardian Alto, and hadn't seemed to realise that I was new. Nice. When the class was assembled, we practiced some punching moves, which I knew none of. I tried to join in, but found it difficult. When he assigned us partner work, I walked up to him.

"Um, excuse me. Guardian Alto?" I turned at my words. He was so tall.

"What are you doing?" he barked, gestured to my partner looking sorry for herself in the corner alone whilst everyone else around us was practising moves. They look quite experienced to be able to perform these difficult moves, although it wasn't like karate. I was sure it wouldn't be too hard to grasp, but then again, I could've been entirely wrong.

"I'm new to this class."

"New?"

"Yeah. I joined yesterday." Or was it the day before?

"Oh. Do you know how to punch?"

"Vaguely."

"Great." He jogged over to my partner, who donned some pads on her hands. She handed me some boxing gloves and they stuck to my fingers as I slid them on. "Show us what you've got." I brace my feet shoulder width apart and brought my fists to settle in a fighting pose by my chest.

"What would you like me to do?"

"What you know." I tried to make my expression look fierce and lunged out with my left fist. My mum had taught me a bit of self-defence so I knew a few expressions. This particular punch was a jab. I crossed over with the other fist, putting in as much strength as possible. My partner didn't even budge. Dammit. I moved her arms to a particular position, which she seemed to recognise, and stood firm, doing twenty hooks to my side. I wasn't entirely sure how that would help me in battle, but one thing I was sure of: I was getting worn out rapidly. Maybe I wasn't a dhampir. I finished my little display of non-existent talent with some uppercuts, which I wasn't very good at. I could feel my face burning from how red I was getting and my breath came in short pants. Guardia Alto didn't look impressed.

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean? How do you expect me to know anything else? I thought I was normal. A human." I swapped pads with my partner. It seemed my technique was okay, but when she lunged towards me, it was almost as strong as Rose earlier. I found it difficult to believe that this girl was only fourteen.

"This kids have been training to keep fit until they were ten, when they started learning combat training. You've got a lot to com up with." He didn't need to add that I was one of the most unfit people he knew. One of the most unfit people _I_ knew. The rest of the lesson, my partner tried to work on my simple techniques, but she seemed bored. I knew she'd want another partner tomorrow. Hopefully I would build up some skill soon to at least not make the other students bored. When the other students left to go and have free time, I reluctantly stayed behind, taking a quick swig of water from my bottle. Rose jogged into the room.

"Right. What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Sit down," she commanded. "Technicalities come first."


	10. Chapter 10  Rose

I plonked myself down gladly on a bench, anticipating a lecture. Instead, she sat next to me.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered to herself. Then to me: "I'm going to tell you about me."

"Um, ok?" Unexpected.

"I've had a difficult life. I don't need you making it worse." Jeez. It wasn't my fault. I though she liked me earlier. "I left this school at about your age..." And she settled into her tale. She told me how she'd left to protect Lissa from spirit darkness, and all about the powers Lissa had. Dream walking, healing. It all seemed like a fairy tale to me. She warned me never to run away, because, and I quote, "The guardians are always watching," which creeped me out, but it was true because she was caught. She told me how she fell in love with Dimitri, and how they couldn't be together. She flitted over a man called Victor Dashkov, preferring to tell me about her first two Strigoi kills. I shuddered at this point, and I thought I saw her smile. She explained how she'd seen ghosts, how Dimitri had been taken by Strigoi and how she left the school again to find him. She told me, whilst almost breaking down, about her trying to kill him. But we didn't cry. Because we're strong. "She told me about Lissa saving him, about her being accused of murder. How she got out, and found Lissa's half-sister. It all seemed so heroic, but there was always sadness. I couldn't believe that someone so young had gone through that.

"This time last year, I had been back at the Academy for a few weeks, and was probably with Dimitri." She sighed, remembering a time long gone. "You'd better go. I'm sure you have homework to do. We'll train tomorrow." With that, she left, and I headed off too. The paths were icy with the coolness of night, and I picked my way towards my dorm. But, instead of doing boring Economics revision, I called my 'mother'. She answered straight away.

"Hello?" Her voice was tired but restless.

"Hi, Mum."

"Amy? Is that you? Oh My Goodness you've got me worried sick! Where are you? Why did you leave?"

"I had to, Mum. It's who I am. But I'm safe. I'm at the Academy. What time is it where you are?"

"It's about half ten at night." Oh. That was why she was tired.

"Should I have called earlier? It's half three over here. School just ended."

"No, no. How was school, honey? Do you have friends."

"_Yes,_ Mum."

"Don't use that tone with me, madam."

"Sorry, Mum. How are you?"

"Fine."

"Well, okay. I'll talk to you soon. Love you. Bye." I hung up. It had been good to hear her voice, but I was getting frustrated now. Rose's story kept spinning around in my mind. Her broken heart. The 16 marks and massive star on the nape of her neck. All the time she kills Strigoi. It was...shocking. If those marks, and what people say she is, I could be up against something so amazing I might actually die. _Well,_ I though optimistically, unusual for me, _at least I'll have a good teacher._


	11. Chapter 11   Dreams

The rest of the day passed without event. I examined my bruises from the combat classes, and had steak pie for dinner. I finished the homework easily, as my previous school skipped through the curriculum quickly because we were considered 'bright and more able to learn'. However, at night, all I could see was the face of that Strigoi, looming over me with a sneering smile on my face. It woke me up with a start. Unable to do anything else, I logged onto my laptop. Accessing my Facebook account, I saw that it was 3pm over here and 8am where my friends were. Luck was with me. Mary was online. As soon as I logged in, I received a message.

"Where are you?" How would I answer? With the truth? Or a lie? I settled between the two.

"Montana."

"Montana? Amy, what are you doing in Montana?"

"I got a scholarship over here."

"But you were doing so well here."

"And I'll do better here. I'm sorry but it was so sudden."

"What about us? Why did you leave us for those American weirdos?"

"That's not very nice. They're not all weirdos."

"I don't care. I don't care whether you're friends with Paris Hilton. I want you to be _my_ friend."

"I am your friend."

"But you're not here."

"No. I just got up."

"At 3pm? A. That's a really odd time. I mean, 3 o'clock? And b. Pm?"

"Um, yeah. We have a nocturnal schedule."

"God. You're turning into a vampire." Hah! She didn't know how close she was to the truth.

"Not funny. I've got to go. School starts soon." It was actually a few hours away, but this was getting awkward. I signed out, feeling guilty that I'd left her, but was suddenly exhausted. Good. I snuggled up under the covers and watched the snow falling outside. Slight rays were shining in, and I basked in them, knowing sun was rare for us. My eyes soon closed and I fell into a heavy sleep...

Minutes later, or at least, it felt like that, the school art room materialised around me. Adrian Ivashkov stood in front of me and I wondered why I'd dreamed him up. I looked down and turned my nose up at the clothes I was wearing, A tight top and a miniskirt. I would never wear that. Sensing my disgust, he shook his head.

"No, no. Something else. I know..." he muttered to himself and suddenly my outfit changed into a t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. Much better. "So, little dhampir. How are you?"

"Excuse me? Why the hell am I dreaming about you? You're my teacher!"

"I know some people who love their teachers." I ignored the statement.

"Not me. Seriously, I'm confused."

"I have spirit power. Like Lissa. I can visit your dreams and that it is currently what I'm doing." I was outraged.

"Why? What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing. That's why I'm checking up on you." His stylishly messy hair flopped in front of his eyes and he brushed it away.

"Well, how lovely. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"You _are_ asleep. Honestly. Rose never understood that concept either."

"Yeah, well, you're bugging me."

"You shouldn't talk to your teacher like that."

"You shouldn't bug your student at night." As soon as I said it, I regretted it. Adrian smirked and I could feel myself flushing. "I'm serious though. I can't handle all this craziness."

"That's ok, little dhampir. We're here for you." I frowned and he put his hand on my shoulder. "Sleep." The dream fell away and drifted peacefully back into my own dreams.


	12. Chapter 12 Tactics

That day mainly passed without incident. Most people stopped staring at me, although I did get a few glances. I was itching on my seat for my after school class with Rose. I had so many questions and, although I felt I was improving at combat, I knew I was pretty rubbish. Between my last class and Rose's mentoring, I nipped into the changing room. My face was as red as a tomato and my hair had come out. Stan wasn't very nice, and he had to teach me punching moves from the beginning. I'd also found out that we graduated _next year_. Many people weren't happy, me being one of them. How could I become a fully-fledged guardian in a year and a half? As I splashed water on my face, I heard Rose and Dimitri chatting through the events. Rose laughed and I strained my ears to listen. Suddenly, Dimitri started singing. He wasn't a bad singer actually. And, it was a song I knew. Russian, of course. His accent made it sound perfect. We'd sung it previously for Christmas assemblies at my previous school. Only God knows why.

"Million million million alikh roz,

Iz okna iz okna iz okna vidish ty

Kto vlyblion kto vlyblion kto vlybion i seryoz

Svoyu zhizn dlya tebya prevratil v tsveti."

"What does it mean?" Rose asked in a honey sweet voice. It was quite odd. This was when I made my entrance.

"It's a Russian love song. About a guy who is so in love that he sold all his belongings and bought roses for the one he loved with the money." I answered. They both turned to look at me and Dimitri arched an eyebrow.

"Yes," he said. "You know that?"

"School." Rose's face was flushed and her eyes sparkled. God, she was so in love with him it was almost stupid. I wondered how nobody had realised while she was at the school. Dimitri kissed her forehead and wandered to the door.

"Catch you later, Roza." Russian nicknames. Cute. I realised the relation between the song and her name. Once he had gone, I said," Wow. He _is_ lovely isn't he?"

"Don't you go stealing my man," she replied, playfully fierce. I held up my hands innocently.

"Wouldn't dare. He's ten years older than me. Besides, I can sense the connection when you're around each other. Anyway, I have a few questions. Where do I get stuff?"

"What kind of stuff?"

"You know, like, stuff to live off. What happens when I run out of my favourite shower gel?"

"Oh. Right. There's a shop somewhere. I'll take you tomorrow. They stock pretty much everything, but if there's like, designer clothes you're looking for, you'll have to schedule a mall trip in the holidays." Right.

"Ok. So, what will we do today?"

"I have some things to tell you. Not on the curriculum."

"Rose! I'm falling so behind in combat class. Everyone else is practically black belt, and I can't even punch!"

"Trust me, you'll need these skills. They don't teach you this, but you'll need it." And the rest of the hour was spent like that. We did some jumping, which I hadn't quite mastered. It seemed easy enough at first, but jumping off of a metre high building was quite difficult. Foot placements so that I wasn't going to sprain my ankle. I was surprised I didn't. How to recognise moroi and dhampirs. That was useful. Tactics, like how to work in a group. Very useful. I found out loads of new information which was really helpful. At the end of our session, Rose called me back.

"Becca isn't bugging you anymore, is she?"

"Not today, no." I was confused. Rose didn't seem like that sort of person. My Dimitri was rubbing off on her.

"Good. Next time she does, sock her in the stomach."

"Thanks." I headed off to the library.


	13. Chapter 13  Bombshell

My weeks continued in a similar pattern. Jill and I chatted about any old thing. Becca taunted me and I ignored her. Rose taught me skills and I got knocked over by her strength and speed every day. I was getting better, and I think I'd finally mastered punching. Getting my leg up to kick was slightly more difficult, but I managed. Christmas came and went. As my birthday neared, I found myself being drawn into my practices. I put all my effort into it. I felt in my heart that I truly wanted to be a guardian, no matter what happened. I felt myself improving, and my stamina was getting better and better. I could sense that Rose was pleased with my progress until, of course, the bombshell was loaded upon us. I'd spent the morning receiving birthday wishes from my friends, and Jill gave me an iTunes voucher. I made a note of when her birthday was, only to be disappointed and find I had missed it already. However, when I got to combat practice, I saw Rose chatting to somebody new. My guardian eyes scanned him. He looked Turkish, with a beard and strange, contrasting clothes. How odd.

"What are you doing here?" Rose was asking.

"I'm here to wish my daughter a happy birthday, of course," the man replied.

"My birthday's not for another month and a bit."

"I didn't necessarily mean you." Woah. That was shocking. I hid behind her figure.

"I have a half sister like Lissa? That sucks you know!"

"Not a half sister." He shook his head.

"A sister?" I could feel her beginning to explode. "Why didn't you and Mom tell me this?"

"Well, you've always been so busy. Don't worry, I didn't tell Belikov."

"Yeah well, that doesn't matter does it? I have a sister! Who is she?" The man suddenly walked over to me and presented me with an envelope.

"Happy birthday."

"Excuse me!" I asked, aghast.

"Happy birthday. Are you going to take the gift or not?" Tentatively I sliced open the envelope to reveal a glittered '15' on a stark white background. Inside, confetti fell out. Wow. He didn't go half way. Inside the message read, in curly writing, 'Dear Amy, Happy 15th birthday, love Mom and dad!'

"Um, thanks. So...you're my father? Who even are you?"

"Abe Mazur. And your mother is the lovely Janine, or should I say Guardian, Hathaway. That'll get confusing. Two guardian Hathaways." I shot a shocked look at Rose, who glared back at me. Her eyes carried so much weight, I shrank back.

"You're my sister?" she spat through gritted teeth. "You. Are. My. Sister."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that I was your sister. You think I just decided 'Oh, I'm going to be Rose Hathaway's sister so that I can annoy her'? No!" I could feel my own anger boiling, and could just sense Abe, or Dad, watching us with interested and anxious eyes.

"I don't care! You've ruined my life!"

"How? How does it make a difference that I'm your sister as well as your student?"

"It makes everything different! I can't believe you would do this to me, you pain in the-"

"Hey, hey. Cut it out, you two." Dimitri had arrived and he was holding Rose back, anticipating punch. But he didn't expect one from me. I lunged out with as much force as I had and jabbed her in the stomach. She doubled over in agony.

"I hate you!" I yelled. "I never did anything to you! I have bruises all over my body because of you yet you have only a scratch! You've spent you whole life being praised by people for your triumphs, but I have to deal with being bottom of my classes because I though I was a human! You don't know anything! And then you have the audacity to accuse me of ruining your life, even though it isn't my fault? Ridiculous. I. Hate. You!" I stormed out of the door and sprinted to my dorm, leaving them standing there.


	14. Chapter 14         Training

**Ok, I've found reviews now. I'm such an idiot. Does anybody have any ideas for something cool I could do next? **

When I reached the dorm, however, I ran straight past it until I reached the school's gates. Before I'd thought they were scary. Now they were what was preventing me from a normal life. A guardian sauntered up to me.

"What are you doing out here?" he questioned.

"Nothing," I mumbled and stormed back in the other direction. Along the way, a guardian who was as short as I was, but about middle aged with curly auburn hair jogged with me.

"So. You're Rose's sister."

"How many people know about that?" I growled.

"Oh, just me and a couple of others. You are so much like her. Like that face you're pulling now. The 'I' going to punch someone' face. I wouldn't be surprised if Rose looked exactly the same as you right now."

"Don't you DARE compare me to Rose. EVER! This has been the worst birthday and it's not fair."

"It wasn't like I knew my daughter's reactions."

"Your daughter? You're the one responsible for this?"

"Sure. I'm Janine Hathaway." She stuck out her hand and I ignored it. "Fine then. Suit yourself. But you are Amy Hathaway and there is no denying it." She wandered off then, leaving me to myself. I spent the rest of the evening alone. I flopped onto my bed, exhausted, and immediately fell asleep, hoping that spirit dreams would avoid me today. Thankfully, they did.

When I woke up, it was 5pm on a Saturday. No training. Well. I would do training myself. I showered and got myself ready and I was just about to head out, when I caught a glimmer on the desk. My iPod sat there, saying _listen to me. Listen to me._ So I grabbed it and left the dorm. I snuck past the man at the desk into the chilly air. It bit at my cheeks and ruffled my hair. I walked over to wear I saw what appeared to be a infrequently used football pitch. Probably for the Moroi PE. I flicked on my iPod, setting it to Black Holes and Revelations. It had some good angry music and every time the bass drum was kicked, I pounded my foot on the floor. One step in front of the other, I jogged around the pitch. I'd been around a couple of times when I saw Dimitri patrolling the area. There was a thick post which produced a spotlight, so I hid behind it in the shadows. When he passed, I leaned against the post to catch my breath. It steamed up in front of me, rising in smoky curls. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and the breath scalded my windpipe. However, when I reopened my eyes, I was staring into warm chocolate. Dimitri was watching me curiously.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Jogging. What does it look like I'm doing. What are _you_ doing out here?"

"This is my watch. I'm patrolling the area for runaways like you." I half-smile turned his lips up.

"It's only half past five."

"Don't you want a lie-in on Saturdays?"

"No. I need to do some more training, otherwise I'll never be a guardian."

"Jogging won't help you."

"Really? 'Cause a little birdie told me that the first thing you did when training with Rose was jogging to get up her speed and stamina."

"Your speed and stamina is up enough."

"Yeah well, we need it to stay that way. I used to love weekends, because they were freedom. But there's nothing to do here."

"Well, my watch is almost over. I could help you with some training."

"Really?" Disbelief coloured my tone.

"Of course. Unless you'd rather stay out here."

"No, no. I'm coming in." We hurried into the gym where he produced a punching bag.

"Go on," he urged. "Give it your best shot." I swung my fist towards it and the impact almost bent it to the ground. When t pinged back up, my foot was already planted against the face sending it back. It swung back again and I grabbed hold of it, wondering how many times I would have to do this. It seemed like not many more. "Good. You've been training really hard, haven't you?"

"Rose is a pretty tough teacher."

"That's good. You have five years to make up."

"I wish people would stop telling me that. It makes me feel awful."

"Well, I think that the first four years were a bit of a waste of time to be honest. You're at about that level, so you need to start working on what they did last year." We started practicing again, and he taught me dodges and how to make somebody unconscious without killing them. It felt like we'd been practising for hours, and my stomach was rumbling from the loss of both breakfast and dinner last night. But I knew I guardian would ignore it, so I would too. It was a show of my ever-building fitness and stamina that I didn't fall to pieces. I was exhausted, but that was natural. Eventually, he decided on some one on one combat. We faced each other and I put on my scary face, trying to stare him down. His face was the perfect image of guardian protocol; blank of emotions and ready to fight. I lunged forwards with my left fist, which he tried to block and jabbed him in the shoulder with my right. He'd caught hold of my right wrist, so I kneed him in the groin. He face screwed up and I took that split second of advantage to free myself and punch him in the stomach. I then pushed him back onto the mats, with my hand under his head so he wouldn't bang it and fall unconscious, and pinned him down. He struggled with me and almost pushed me over, so I pressed all my weight down on his hands so I was practically balancing on them.

"I win," I laughed playfully. We sat up and he ruffled his hair back. We both look up at the doorway at exactly the same time to see Alberta, the head of the guardians at the Academy, watching us with a small smile on her hard face. She flitted away as soon as we noticed.

"You have so much potential, Amy. It's brilliant. A couple more sessions like this and we can get a stake on you."

"Really?" That would be amazing! I'd never even seen a stake, but I knew that it would look cool.

"Yes. Go and get some breakfast. I have another watch later so I can't help you again, but you could ask some of the other guardians." I walked to the canteen, the whole time my mind going _stake...stake..._


	15. Chapter 15             Arguements

In the canteen, I saw Rose grabbing an éclair. We ignored each other. For the rest of the day, Jill and I went to watch a movie. I wasn't entirely sure how she got it there, but I thought it might've had something to do with Adrian, because he watched with us. It was pretty rubbish actually, but I watched it anyway, happy for a piece of normality somewhere in this world. After the movie, we headed to grab dinner.

"So, how are you doing in combat classes?" Jill asked.

"Fine. Dimitri said I'm almost up to the standard of the others, which I think is pretty good seeing as I've only been here for three months."

"Dimitri? Aren't you Rose's student?"

"Yeah, but she hates me so I did a little extra training with Dimitri earlier."

"Rose hates you? Surely not. Why?" I took a deep breath. Jill was my best friend. I could tell her.

"I'm her sister."

"You're what?" She almost spat out her apple juice.

"That was my reaction too."

"Wow. I guess that explains a lot."

"Yeah, Rose is pretty mad at her, well, our parents for not telling her before. She won't train with me."

"Just give her time. I'm sure she'll come around. She's like that."

"Well, what do you think I should do?" It was almost like I could see the light bulb above her head as she grabbed my hand and dragged me off. We arrived at a stop outside Lissa's door.

"Are you serious?" I hissed.

"She and Rose share everything. I'm sure she can help." She rapped sharply on the door. There was a moments pause, and then a good-looking guy opened the door. He was obviously a Moroi with jet black hair and icy blue eyes. "Hey Christian."

"Hey Jailbait." he laughed. This was getting confusing. "Who's your friend?"

"Amy, this is Christian. Christian, this is Amy."

"Hi Amy." I shook his hand and he welcomed us in to where Lissa was sat, looking flushed, at her desk. I presumed that Christian was her boyfriend. We explained my situation to Lissa and she sat for a few moments after looking thoughtful. At last, she said to one of her guardians, "Go and fetch Rose for me, please." I was surprised Rose wasn't with her. It only took a minute to find Rose; she'd been guarding the canteen. She stood firm when she saw me.

"What do you want?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"For you to understand that it's not my fault. And for you to actually train me." I hadn't forgotten that she'd sent me a note saying that training was cancelled. "How will I become a guardian if you don't train me?"

"You'll have to work extra hard in combat class."

"I already do! Rose, I missed five years! How will I ever manage if I don't have extra training?"

"Figure it your yourself. A guardian would."

"But I won't be very good. Besides, the guardian numbers are falling rapidly. Especially female guardians. I would be of good use to the society and you know it." And she did. I could see it in her face that it was the only thing that I could've got her with. Ha ha.

"You better know I'm not doing this out of my own will."

Lissa decided to enter the conversation. "If you don't train her properly, Rose, you will feel my wrath."

"_Your_ wrath? Right."

"I'm the head around here. I won't be particularly happy about it, but it'll be what I have to do to keep our society safe. I cannot have guardians that refuse to do their jobs around here, whether they're my friends or not." Christian nodded his head for emphasis and Rose stuck her tongue out at him.

"Fine," she huffed. "We'll train, but you better be on your best the whole time."

"Yes, sir." I stated, and with that she walked away. I thanked Lissa, and Jill and I went to the library.

"So, who actually is Christian?"

"Christian Ozera. His parents turned Strigoi and were killed by his aunt, who helped kill the previous Queen Tatiana. He's had a tough time."

"Poor guy."

"Yeah. I think Lissa's love is the only thing that keeps him standing. When he was at the school last year he taught me how to fight Strigoi with magic. Although his fire is much better than my air, as fire kills them, you know. Look at what I can do." She stood up and faced her hands to the far wall. There was a table there. A quick scope of the room told me nobody was around. She focused on a point on the wall and I could sense the air coming from her palms. She pushed the table into the wall, brought it back and slammed it forward again, picking it up slightly in the gusts. Then the table dropped back down and she collapsed into a chair, breathing heavily.

"Wow! That was amazing."

"It takes a lot of energy though."

"I'll say. You look almost ready to pass out." We decided to head back to dorm, and split ways. The night passed peacefully.


	16. Chapter 16              Staking

I awoke to a loud banging on the door. My eyes flicked open and I stumbled to the door, flinging it open to reveal Rose standing there with her hands on her hips.

"What the hell?" I mumbled. "It's only half past four."

"Guardians work all the time."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Quick. I want to meet you in the dorm foyer in five minutes." Five minutes? How was I supposed to shower in five minutes? The answer: I wasn't. I would do it after my combat training. I tied my hair up and grabbed a t-shirt, as the weather seemed unseasonably warm today. I yanked on some jeans and hurried down the stairs. Rose tapping her watch. When she saw me, she sprinted out the door and headed towards the main gates. I couldn't understand why the hell she was going there, but boy was she fast. Catching up with her was agonising for my legs that didn't seem to have woken up yet. It was still sunny, so no Moroi were around, but that could've been because it was half four in the morning. Stupid o'clock. When we reached the gate, she set off around the perimeter of the school. I jogged next to her.

"By training," I huffed. "I meant combat. As in, like, fighting."

"We will fight. I'm trying to wake you up."

"I think I'm awake now."

"Really?" We continued in silence, both of us focusing on the gym that was within sight. Suddenly she lunged towards me with her fist. I dodged it neatly, her hand just passing my shoulder where my nose was before. "Hmm. I guess you're awake then." We went to the gym and set up some mats. I did a couple of one-on-one fights with her, before Dimitri walked in and started helping her. Multiple attackers. Dammit. They backed me into the corner and I lunged out with my fist one way and my foot the other. Luck was with me. I got them both. I jumped Rose first, because she knew my moves, and pinned her to the ground, placing my hands over her heart. She wriggled away, now 'dead' and Dimitri was heading towards me. I spun around and landed a punch to his chest, which he blocked. He added punch of his own, and I tried not to stumble Lunging forward again, I flipped around and grabbed his leg, knocking him to the ground roughly. I hoped I hadn't broken anything. However, the impact pulled me over too. He realised this and immediately moved into a dominant position over me. I could see his mouth moving closer to my throat, which would result in death if he were a Strigoi. I couldn't let that happen. I elbowed him in the eye and he gasped, swearing in Russian. I rolled over and 'stabbed' him in the chest.

"I can't believe I fell for that move _again_. You two. Honestly. He rubbed his eye which, thankfully, I hadn't poked out. I looked sore though. Rose was laughing at him.

"It took a lot of intelligence to come up with this move. I wouldn't want my sister here to die if she didn't know it." She smiled and I wondered if it was genuine or not. Probably not. Two Moroi walked in next, and I wondered what they were doing here. "Time for fighting in difficult conditions." Wow. She didn't go halfway. One of the Moroi made a whirlwind, whilst the other made the room extremely hot. Boiling hot but very windy. How did that work? Thankfully, this was a one attacker deal, so it was just me against Rose. Dimitri watched with sharp, eagle eyes. The wind whipped my hair in front of my face and I could feel sweat pouring down my face. Ew. I felt awful. I could barely see Rose so I lunged out blindly. A small moan of pain told me I'd hit home. I continued hitting in the same place until I found myself punching thin air. I whirled around but there was no sign of her. I jumped down and she let out an 'Oof!' as I landed on her, pinning her to the floor. I 'stabbed' her and then stood up. The elements cleared away. I grabbed my bottle and started glugging the water gratefully. A quick check of my watch told me we'd been training for two hours.

"Jeez, Rose. Can't you go a little easy on me?" I gasped

"Guardians don't have breaks."

"Yes they do! If you were in a Strigoi fight in the middle of the desert you'd want a quick break to catch your breath, and I'm sure your Moroi would too." My eyes flitted over to Dimitri, who was pulling out some very convincing Strigoi models. "What's going on?"

"You're going to learn staking."

"Staking? What? Is that even in the curriculum?"

"It is...for next term. I think you're ready for it."

"How the hell can I be ready for it? I only started the school three months ago and I'm ahead already? That's not possible."

"It is. You had the best teacher." Her smile was smug.

"I thought Dimitri was the best teacher."

"He is. I'm next. Check the history books."

"There's a list of the best teachers in those books?" She rolled her eyes and I immediately felt stupid. She was referring to her kills. Dimitri jogged over and handed Rose a stake. It was silver and gleamed in the light. Around the top there was a weird pattern. It looked so, well, professional.

"This is a stake."

"No. Really?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Funny. Why don't you try holding it?" I reached for the stake she held out in her palm. It was lighter than I expected, but I was expecting heavy metal or something. I could almost sense the power emanating from it, although that could've just been me imagining it.

"Right. So, what do I do?" Dimitri dropped onto the bench and watched. I don't think he ever stopped being Rose's mentor, even if she was mine. He was probably mentoring her on how to be a mentor behind my back. I had a distinct feeling that he was part of the reason for her good mood today.

"Where's the heart?" she asked, smiling at him. I pointed towards the left side of one of the models chests. This model was small with curly auburn hair, but her pale skin and red eyes creeped me out. She reminded me of Janine Hathaway.

"There."

"Yes, but how do you get to it?"

"By staking it."

"What's in the way?"

"Um, ribs and lungs?" I tried to remember my biology studies. They seemed so long ago.

"Right. So, you want to try staking?" I lined it up. I used all my force and pierced the 'skin' of the model. I couldn't go any further.

"Ta da." I presented my failure meekly. She shook her head and grabbed the stake. Quickly and forcefully, she shoved the stake into the heart and the tip poked out of the other side. The look on her face was enough to scare me away.

"There. Try again."


	17. Chapter 17         Becca

I spent the next hour trying to stake. I started off using the hole Rose made the see where I was supposed to go. My first shot was completely out. By the time I'd figured it out, Rose and Dimitri were in hysterics.

"This," she choked out, "is like when Lissa tried to stake, except that time wasn't so funny as worrying."

"It's not funny! I'm trying to learn here and you're not helping." I put in all the effort I had and finally managed to pierce through to the other side of the dummy. I jumped up in celebration.

"Breakfast," Rose declared. My stomach rumbled in agreement. We all went to the canteen together, and Rose and Dimitri sat with me. I quickly spotted Jill and beckoned her over.

"Oh, hi you two," she greeted them, surprised. She then shot me a knowing glance and I rolled my eyes. "Where've you been this morning? You're usually first here."

"Yeah, well, Rose got me up at half past four to do some training."

"Half four? Rose, why?"

"She needs training," she mumbled through I mouthful of cornflakes. I noticed that Dimitri hardly ate anything, and what he did eat, he regarded with wonder. "And, Amy, I owe you an apology. I'm sorry that I got so annoyed yesterday. I mean, it's a bit shocking finding out that you've got a sister after eighteen years of being an only child. Or, I thought I was. And many dhampirs don't know their Moroi parents, so it's strange that mine even keep contact, let alone have another kid."

"Yeah, well, I've met our parents now. I had a bit of a go at Mum yesterday."

"Good. I haven't seen her yet but I think she knows how I feel." A dark look crossed her face and Dimitri quickly changed the subject.

"So," he began. "How do you feel you're doing?"

"Well, I just staked a 'Strigoi', didn't I?"

"Yes. Well done."

"You staked a Strigoi?" Jill asked in disbelief. We laughed.

"No. A model one." I corrected. "It's harder than it looks."

"It looks hard."

"There you go then." Becca suddenly walked up to our table.

"Hello, Hathaway," she spat at Rose. "Oh of course, I almost forgot. _Two_ Hathaways."

"Go away, Becca."

"Why? This is a free area, you know."

"What are you doing here? If you're trying to antagonise me, it's not working."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because you're a stupid, mean old bi-" Rose began, but Dimitri placed his hand on her shoulder in restraint.

"I wouldn't stay here, if I were you," he warned.

"What are you going to do? Stake me?" Becca teased.

"No. But I have enough authority to kick you out if you're bothering people."

"It's not _me_ that bothers people." She looked pointedly at me. "_She's_ the one creating fights. Just like her sister. Fight picker, you think you're the boss around here."

"What the hell are you going on about?" I questioned. "I'm not the boss of anybody except myself."

"Huh, whatever. You're both the same. Boyfriend stealers. You should both go and become blood whores."

"Hey!" Rose jumped up. "Do not speak to your elders like that. And do not bother other students when they are trying to chat privately. Out!" Becca scurried away with an evil smile on her face and Rose sunk back into her chair. I stared after her.

"What does she mean, boyfriend stealers?" Jill asked.

"I don't know. I don't know any of the boys here." I wondered.

"They certainly know you," Rose replied, nodding towards a group on the other side of the canteen. They were staring at us, so Dimitri shot them glares and they quickly turned away.

"Huh. I never noticed before. Doesn't bother me, though. I need to focus on my training."

"Well, Dimitri and I will be busy later. Doing guardian stuff." From the way she spoke, anticipation almost visible, I had a feeling it most likely _wasn't_ guardian stuff.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? Homework?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"That's ridiculous. If I'm gonna become a guardian, what use will art be to me? Or creative writing?"

"If you fail your tests, you'll have to get a proper job."

"I thought you said I won't fail my tests."

"Not with me around. But still, you have to do it. We said our goodbyes, and Jill and I headed to her dorm room. Inside, her wall was covered in posters and there was even a drawing of, so help me...

"Adrian Ivashkov?" I asked dubiously. "What's he doing on your wall?" She flushed and looked down.

"Well," she mumbled. "He drew it for me and I thought it'd be polite to put it up."

"Uh, huh." _I can see through you_. "So, have you done the art homework yet?"

"Of course." She handed me her sketchbook where she'd created a double page spread on the works of Van Gogh. It was brightly coloured and crammed full of information. Teacher's pet.

"Wow! How many print credits did you use for that?"

"Several." She looked sheepish and we continued working together. Mine was drab compared to her masterpiece but it didn't matter. I was going to be a guardian after all. Rose would make sure. Even if her emotions did confuse me sometimes, she was a great teacher and I appreciated that.

**Wow guys, thanks for the constant support. As the Christmas holidays are here, I should hopefully be able to write more for. I'll try and incorporate as many reviews as possible. **


	18. Chapter 18        Love

The next day it was back to normal school times again. However, combat class was interesting. Guardian Alto was teaching the class a move I already knew, as Rose had taught me it a week or so ago. I practiced anyway, because it was a difficult move, but he wandered up to me. Surely I wasn't doing it wrong?

"Hathaway," he barked. I jumped at my new name. "How are you doing that?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, you're doing well at it."

"I'm offended! Did you think that I wasn't going to do well?"

"You only started this school three months ago and-"

"I'm doing fine, thank you very much. I have an excellent teacher," he snorted, "and I've already learnt this move."

"Really? What kind of curriculum is that girl teaching you?"

"Rose is teaching me a brilliant curriculum. And, considering she has twice as many _molnija _marks as you, I wouldn't go putting her down."

"She was my student last year. I know all her weaknesses." I shook my head.

"Not even Dimitri knows all her weaknesses, and he was her mentor."

"I'm surprised those two even trained," he added with a smug smile on his face. Ooh, I wanted to punch him so badly right now.

"That's not really the sort of things you should be talking about to students, is it?" By now the whole class had quit practising and was staring at us.

"Teachers shouldn't be 'involved' with students."

"What happened between them has nothing to do with you. Drop it."

"Students should not talk to their teachers like that. Detention with Headmistress Dragomir after your extra training." He stormed away, thinking he had it over me. Huh. Once I told Lissa what this was about, she wouldn't care. Then _he'd_ be the one with a telling off. Boy, I'd like to see that. After the lesson, a guy hung back with me. He was cute, with blonde floppy hair and sky blue eyes to fall into.

"Hey," he said, "I'm Lewis McGugan. You're Amy, aren't you? Hathaway's student." _And sister_, I added silently.

"Yeah."

"I've heard a lot about you."

"All bad, I suppose."

"Nah. Well, it depends on the way you look at it. I think punching Becca was a really good idea. It's about time someone around here tried to kick her ass."

"Why didn't you?"

"Boys don't get into girly sprawls like that."

"Girls get into fights."

"True."

"So, what are you doing here?" That was the question he'd been hoping I wouldn't ask, as he was caught of guard and his face looked anxious.

"Well, I just wanted to talk to you." Unexpected. How nice.

"Here I am."

"Yeah. Here you are." He seemed to be drifting away, and stopped staring at my face, but lower down. I crossed my arms over my chest and he immediately looked back up. Fool.

"Well, I think I just heard Rose come in, so, I've gotta go."

"Okay. See you around." He shuffled away, and I wondered why on earth he'd wanted to talk to me. Rose rounded the corner.

"Was that Lewis McGugan?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Of course! He's the cutest guy in your year."

"Mmhm." We practiced some more staking, which I had a feeling I was getting the hang of, when Rose stopped me.

"Um, just in case you run into Mum or Dad, don't speak to them about me, okay?"

"Why?" I asked slowly. "What have you done?"

"Well, I kind of had a go at them. My Mum tried to punch me and Dad threatened to, well, I won't tell you. They're very defensive of you."

"So I see." Defensive parents. My parents back in England were ordinary, split up and barely in contact. These parents, well, the mother and father rarely see each other and they're not married. One of them combated evil vampires all day and the other one seemed almost as powerful as God. Not quite, though. Meanwhile, I had an older sister who had killed almost 20 Strigoi before she even graduated. I had a lot to live up to.

"Oh," Rose added, before I left, "by the way, you have a test next Monday. Off campus with one of the guardians."

"Thanks for the heads up," I replied sarcastically. I wandered to Lissa's office.

"Detention again?" she laughed. "You're almost as bad as Rose was."

"Do you know about, well, you know?" _Stupid me, how can I ask her about something if I don't tell her what it is?_

"Yeah. You're Rose's sister. Lucky thing."

"Can you get me _out_ of detention?"

"Just because we're friends doesn't mean I can get you out of punishment."

"Please. Stan and I were having an arguement."

"Even more like Rose."

"It was about her and Dimitri's love life." This shocked her.

"You know about that? He knows about that?"

"I only know that they fell in love. Not the details. Ugh." I shuddered theatrically. "But I think the entire of the school knows. Stan was accusing them of not doing any work. I was defending her."

"Well, that's not fair. I won't be having this. Yes, you can go to your dorm or whatever. I'm going to have words with Stan." _Haha. Gotcha_.


	19. Chapter 19    Invite

In the hallway, I bumped into Jill, who had been heading to the gym to find me. I told her in brief detail about the Stan incident and complained about the test.

"I'm sure you'll do great, Amy," she assured me. "You have a brilliant teacher."

"Which just puts pressure on me. Rose told me that she didn't have her test, but she was at Strigoi killing standard so it doesn't really matter too much."

"I think you're pretty deadly." She smiled and I caught sight of Lewis McGugan on the other side of the corridor.

"How does _he_ come in to me being deadly?"

"By the fact that he's chasing you around like a little puppy and you seem to fling him away but he just keeps on coming."

"I don't even know who he is! I only met him, like, an hour ago."

"Well, girls chase him, not the other way round. You are one lucky girl."

"Whatever. I was talking about my guardian abilities."

"Guardian abilities are not going to help you with our homework, are they?"

"I still think homework is a waste of time," I grumbled. "I'm no going to need it."

"Doesn't matter. You don't want Adrian getting mad at you."

"Does he come to you in your sleep?" She gave me a weird look and I regretted telling her. Obviously not.

"Yes." So, I was wrong. "He only does that to people he needs to, though."

"He just sits and has a chat with me."

"Same here."

"Why?"

"We're good friends, Adrian and me." So I gathered. "But, I don't know, maybe he knows your Rose's sister. They're good friends too."

"Hmmm. Maybe." We reached the library and flipped open our biology books. We were doing the nervous system, and had to study for a test coming up. Tests, tests everywhere. Ho hum. I gave up after half an hour, instead studying the placing of the heart so that I wouldn't fail at staking. Jill worked diligently throughout the afternoon. We were just packing up when Lewis trudged over.

"Hi, Lewis," I greeted him cheerfully.

"Hi, Amy. Hi, Jill," he replied. Jill blushed at being acknowledged.

"So, what're you doing up here?"

"I came to give you this. I heard it was your birthday the other day." He opened out his palm to reveal a bracelet. It was made of elastic and had several different charms hanging off of it. It was actually quite beautiful.

"Wow, I mean, thanks Lewis. You shouldn't have."

"I wanted to give it to you." Jill nudged me and winked, although I had my doubts. It might sound sceptical and mean, but I wondered whether he truly wanted to be with me, or was just flirting. Guys didn't give bracelets to people they'd just met.

"Well, thank you. That's really sweet. When's your birthday?"

"It's next week actually. We're having a party in the field."

"Is it a sneaking-out type party?" Anticipation of some fun curled inside my stomach.

"Sadly, no, but we do have an open-mic. And the guardians will stop anything bad happening. Although I have a feeling that Dane Zeklos is sneaking in alcoholic punch. You should both come. It's next Friday."

"We'd love to."

"Ok. Well, see you then." He waved and walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Jill squealed, "We're going to a party! Dhampirs never really have cool parties like this. Only Moroi."

"Well, you said yourself, this _is_ Lewis McGugan."

"True. Oh my God, we have to go shopping. There's this mall close by and we can get dresses and stuff. And you'll need to buy him a present. That bracelet is so cute." She rambled on. When was I going to go to a mall? And, more importantly, how? I had so much training to do, and it wasn't like we could sneak out to go. I had no cash anyway. Still, I didn't want to spoil her fun.

"And we can have matching dresses and-"

"Woah, girl," I cautioned. "Stop there. I am never, ever, wearing a matching dress on purpose."

"Oh, okay. I wonder if Becca will be there."

"She better not be. I heard that Lewis hates her."

"Really?"

"Apparently, a lot of us dhampirs do. I've had some people congratulating me on my punch, even though it was three months ago." We headed to the canteen. The smell of fried chicken wafted through the door, making my mouth water. I grabbed a plate and ate gratefully. I also had Jill's chips.

"I think that red would look gorgeous on you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Short or long?"

"How about mid-way?"

"Definitely not. Only weirdoes have middle length dresses. I think long would work, with your figure." She sighed wistfully and I almost laughed.

"Well, I think you'd look great in a short green number."

"Green?"

"Yeah. To bring out your eyes." We chatted about the party for the rest of the evening. It was hot gossip around the entire school as the upper year was invited too. My bracelet was also hot of the press. I was fine with the attention, until I caught a pair of piercing blue eyes. Becca.


	20. Chapter 20  Test

"What is that _thing_ you're wearing around your wrist?" she exclaimed with mock disgust.

"It's a bracelet," I replied, defiantly.

"I can see that. It looks like you made it in first grade."

"That's not true!"

"When then? Second, third grade?"

"I didn't make it."

"Then who did? Your best human friend. Your little brother?"

"Nobody made it." That might not have been quite true, but I wasn't bothered.

"You mean, you bought that? They shouldn't be allowed to sell such bad quality jewellery."

"_I _like it. It doesn't matter if you don't, 'cause it's not your bracelet. And it never will be. Deal with it."

"I don't want that piece of string around my perfect wrists, thank you very much. However gave that to you is a total idiot."

"No he's not." Oops. I'd just given away important information.

"He? You've got a boyfriend? Wow. I'd never have thought it with _your_ face." Ouch.

"You stop that! You're just jealous of her!" Jill yelled.

"You shut up, Mastrano." Jill shrunk underneath the table and Becca smirked.

"Don't you dare talk to my friend like that," I snapped, clenching my jaw. I could feel my fists shaking.

"What are you going to do? Punch me? You can't do that again. You got in big trouble last time. And then you won't be allowed to go to the party next week. Will you?"

"Well, at least I'm invited." Which is the least I can say for some people.

"I'm invited. I'm invited to everything. And I'll be watching you. Don't forget that." She stalked off; shaking her hair and Jill shook her head.

"What a bi- oh, hi Lewis."

"You didn't just hear that, did you?" I asked.

"Of course I did. Don't worry. I don't take offense," he gave me a small smile.

"Well, just so you know, I love the bracelet." He and his mates sat at a different table somewhere close by and Jill and I got up to leave. Someone really needed to do something about that girl.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. I trained heavily with Rose, who seemed to be impressed by my progress. Becca made snide remarks which I ignored. Jill and I chatted about the party, which was only a week away, and Lewis seemed to see my every day. However, Friday soon arrived. I hopped into the car beside Rose and turned to radio station to some random pop music. The winner of the X Factor 2010, Matt Cardle, was singing his winner song; When We Collide. I remembered that moment watching him win. I'd voted over five times and was so pleased. He really deserved it. She started the engine and drove off.

"When will I learn how to drive?" I wondered.

"In a year. The school will teach you when you're sixteen."

"Sixteen? Isn't that when we graduate?"

"Yeah," she replied, tightly. I realised this was a tight subject for her, and had a perfect image of her arguing with the queen about it. I stopped myself before I laughed out loud.

"Do the Moroi graduate then?"

"Yes. That was the compromise. The guardians kicked up a fuss so now we all graduate together. Not sure how that helps but, hey, maybe you'll be Jill's guardian or something."

"Hopefully. So, where are we going?"

"I know a few guys who test about an hour or so from here."

"When will the other novices do their tests?"

"Some already have. So will in a few weeks."

"What do they gain us?"

"Reputation and recommendation from top guardians." We made weak small talk about general guardian stuff for the rest of the journey. A ball of nerves was bouncing around in my stomach. When we arrived, I listened to the crunch of the gravel under our tyres. We stepped out into the fresh air and headed up the driveway. A sturdy looking man, who I presumed was a guardian, opened the door and smiled when he saw Rose.

"Guardian Hathaway! How lovely to see you. Who is your student today?"

"Amy Hathaway," I stated. He raised his eyebrows and Rose nodded.

"Well, come in." Inside there was a young Moroi girl. She had ginger hair and freckles and smiled when she saw us. The guardian took his place by the door, and Rose immediately took hers by the window. Guardians operated silently, which was odd. "Okay. How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Have you seen any Strigoi before?" I swallowed.

"Yes. Rose and Dimitri Belikov saved me from one back in England."

"Okay. So, how do you recognise Strigoi?" The test began like this, with simple questions and answers. They seemed easy, but I kept checking his face for any clues on how I was doing. It was perfectly blank. We also did some physical practice. With his height and weight, he was difficult to pin, but I managed. He clapped and climbed up. Rose had quickly dashed to the loo, so I was surprised when I turned around and saw her standing there. I was sure something had changed about her, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was odd, and I wondered if the guardian, who's name was Blake, had realised. If he did, he didn't say so.

"Come on," she beckoned. "We're going."


	21. Chapter 21  Capture

She began jogging down the driveway and I hurried to catch up with her.

"Hey, what's the big deal? Are there Strigoi around?" I called, and for some reason, she almost laughed. We jumped into the car and began speeding away, but she was silent. This was most definitely not Rose, or something was really bothering her. I quickly slipped the stake she usually kept in the glove pocket into my pockets. My fingers absentmindedly traced the pattern through my jumper as I sat, anxiously waiting for Rose to tell me what to do. Soon, we pulled over and jumped out, where we swapped into a tinted black van.

"Is this part of the test?" I asked, extremely confused by now. She confirmed my non-Rose suspicions by cackling and leading me towards the doors. I stood firmly in the middle of the path. "No. I'm not getting in that car." She stalked towards me, handcuffs glimmering in her hands. I punched her quickly and she stumbled backwards. Definitely not Rose. She would've seen that coming. I landed another punch on her, when a guy in black appeared. He smiled at her and I caught sight of a gun in his hand. And, so help me, he was pointing it at...

"Adrian?" No. Surely not. What the hell was he doing here?

"Hey little dhampir. Look what we've got ourselves into," he replied, somehow cheerfully considering we'd just been captured by humans. He was wreathed in smoke and probably drunk if he thought that _this_ was normal.

"Shut up all of you, or Ivashkov gets it!" barked the man with the gun. 'Rose' clicked the handcuffs on and pushed me roughly into the van. Adrian soon followed. They slammed the door closed.

"Crap," I moaned. "This is awful!"

"Well done. I hadn't realised that," Adrian added.

"Well, how are we going to escape?"

"Escape? Can't we just, be prisoners quietly?"

"I've heard about you, Ivashkov. You were in a lot of Rose's plans. Do you think I'm just gonna let myself be killed by Strigoi? No."

"Well, you're the mastermind in this plan. What are we going to do?"

"Look, I have a stake in my pocket." His eyes widened.

"You know how to use one of those?"

"Sure. We need to listen to those guys and, whatever you do, don't go to sleep. I'll get us out before we need to. Unless it's like, necessary to get your strength up, don't go to sleep." He nodded and I strained my ears to listen to the conversation in the seats at the front of the car.

"We've got Adrian Ivashkov and Hathaway's student. I think we did well," someone praised themselves. Seems like Rose was notorious among the Strigoi.

"Do you think Lauren will be happy?"

"Of course. This is like, the best of the best." The rest of the journey was silent, which didn't help my scheming. All the time I tried to think _what would Rose do?_ And all the time I was coming up blank. I kept my eyes focused on where we were being dragged. Four flights of stairs, down a corridor and the third door on the right. I committed it to memory. Lucky we'd done training on that. I'd thought it was useless at the time, but Rose obviously knew what she was doing. I couldn't imagine her being caught up in as stupid a situation as this, though. They opened the door and dumped us roughly on the bed, before exiting. A Strigoi girl walked through the door after them. I gasped in spite of myself. She had that same deathly pale skin and a crimson ring around her ocean blue eyes, but she looked about seven years old. Her blonde girls fell delicately around her chin.

"Hello," she greeted us in a tinkling voice. "I guess you're my new people."

"Get away from us you freak of nature!" I spat, injecting my voice with as much menace as possible. She almost shrank back.

"Ooh. Fierce." She glanced over to Adrian, cowering in the corner, and giggled. "Adrian Ivashkov. I've been wanting you for a long time."

"What is this? Some kind of collection?"

"Of course. My Daddy is going to make sure that I have the best place in the World for me. He's bringing all you lot so I always have friends to play with." I snorted at friends. "And then, when I get thirsty, all I have to do is this." She leaned down and bit into Adrian's neck. He cried out before his pleas turned to moans of pleasure. The endorphins were doing their work. It took all my strength not to swear at her.

"Get the hell of off him!" I jumped her and ripped her teeth from his neck before punching her in the face. She was clearly new to the Strigoi ranks, and wasn't very good at defending herself.

"Aww. His blood was tasty." She undid our handcuffs and left us here. The room was furnished with the basics. There was a single bed, which I could feel the springs through the mattress. There was a small bathroom with no lock. There was a chair to sit in. But we had absolutely no entertainment whatsoever. Apart from each other. I knelt beside Adrian, who had slumped to the ground.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine," he murmured. "Endorphins." I dragged him onto the bed and washed the wound on his neck. It looked painful, and I remembered being bitten by a Strigoi myself. However, my high was interrupted by being slammed against a wall. Just the thought of it made me dizzy. Adrian soon fell asleep and but I couldn't take comfort in his light snoring. I'd told him not to sleep, and he'd disobeyed me almost as soon as we arrived. Aggravated, I paced the room, looking for options. There was nothing silver, nothing sharp and nothing that could start a fire. Apart from my stake. This girl really wasn't very clever, letting me keep my stake like that. The window was unbreakable, and it looked like a several story drop anyway. I walked towards the door, wandering how many numbers the code would have. If I was lucky, there would only be about 4 and I could make guesses. However, when I turned the handle, the door was unlocked.


	22. Chapter 22     Discovery

I checked again, blinking furiously. Cracking open the door, I peeked outside. There was the long corridor we'd come down, but there was nobody along it. Not even guards. I hated that they assumed I wasn't dangerous. Especially as they knew I was Rose's student. I sunk into the chair and fought the internal battle: should I take Adrian? One part of me said _Yes. Adrian would want to come with you and you can't just leave him here. He'll probably be disorientated when he wakes up._

The other argued _No. You don't know how much danger and trouble you'll get into._ I included information I knew about him from him as a person and Rose. Finally, I made my decision.

Shaking him awake, I murmured, "Adrian. Get up," into his ear. His eyelids slowly slid opened to reveal me staring into deep pits of emerald. He looked groggy and sat up slowly.

"Where are we?"

"Stuck in a house full of Strigoi."

"What?"

"Remember? We got captured. But, they're stupid because a. I still have my stake and b. The door's unlocked."

"How? How can the door be unlocked? Surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to do that?" He tested it and, sure enough, it opened to reveal the dimly lit corridor. Only, this time, someone was walking along it. I shut the door as quickly as I could without making any noise, bracing myself for the knock that didn't come. Letting out a breath, I told Adrian my plan. He laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes. Pressing his fingers to his temple, he said, "Rose." And just like that, he was perfectly still. I hoped he could get a connection. I sat and drummed my fingers on the windowsill impatiently. It was odd watching him. Almost like watching someone unconscious. Eventually, he revived himself.

"She's worried stupid," he explained. "Has no idea what the hell happened. And, by the way, she's really, really angry at you." I gulped. "So I told her where we are and hopefully a troop of guardians will get to us soon. I suggest we stay put."

"No. No way am I staying in here any longer. Come with me if you want, but if you don't want to, you're going to be alone. I opened the door and it clicked softly closed behind me. I tiptoed down the corridor surreptitiously, waiting for a Strigoi to jump out at any moment. My senses were all at their peak. My fist was clenched around my stake resting in my pocket. Slowly, I climbed another set of stairs to see yet another corridor. Dear Lord. This Lauren girl just wasn't very good at being Strigoi. I wondered how many of these rooms were occupied. Suddenly, there was a pat on my shoulder. I whirled around and whipped out my stake, only to see a Moroi girl. She looked really scared and anxious, but still managed to stammer, "Who are you? What are you doing?"

"I'm Amy Hathaway. Rose Hathaway's sister. I'm exploring. Do you want to come?" I peered down the corridor and saw Adrian. Dammit. If he was coming after all, I didn't want him to get lost. I waved silently and he hurried towards me.

"I'm Eloise. I see lots of people walking these corridors. None of them are Strigoi or human. They're just Moroi and dhampirs that have been captured. They live here. They act like feeders because that Lauren girl is a spoilt brat. She lives off of us. Please tell me I won't end up like that. Please!"

"You won't, if you come with us." The three of us snuck up the corridor to yet another flight of stairs. I sighed dramatically and continued up. However, at the top, there was a door. I examined it carefully, determined it to be open, and stepped inside. Or outside. We were on the roof of the house. Around me, I could see nothing but fields and fields stretching as far as the eye could see. That would explain the bumpy entrance. I peered over the edge and backed up. Just because I was going to be a guardian, doesn't mean that I didn't have fears. Heights were one of them. It was making me dizzy. Eloise and Adrian were looking similarly, although they didn't look nauseous like I felt. It was almost like those walls were about to crumbled to leave us one trip away from falling to our deaths. I gulped and turned around, smack bang into a Strigoi. Lauren glared at us, with her hand on her tiny hips. She was obviously a Moroi before, as she was up to my shoulders. Ridiculous. However, as I stared into her scarlet eyes, I trembled.

"Crap," I muttered.

**Hi, guys. Thanks for your support! I really appreciate it. I'll try to upload soon so that you won't be kept in suspense. **


	23. Chapter 23   Murder

She lunged at me and I quickly dodged it, all my senses on high alert. I tried to remember everything that Rose had taught me, and yelled, "Get out! Get away!" to the Moroi. They stood there, frozen with shock and horror. I whipped out my stake and held it in front of me, warning her to stay back whilst I continued barking orders at the Moroi. My voice was going hoarse. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fleet of SUV's speeding down the long driveway to this building. They would take I while to get here, but I felt comfort in the fact that the guardians were coming. The sun was setting, meaning that there was no chance that I could wait for Lauren to burst into ashes. Oh well. I attacked her, scraping my stake along her chin. She wailed a high-pitched shriek that almost pierced my ear drums. Thankfully, it got through to the Moroi and woke them up, so they scrambled to the door. However, Lauren used my moment of distraction to chase me towards the edge. It neared and neared and there was nothing I could do. I could almost hear the guardians arriving now, and suddenly I had a flash of an idea. I climbed up onto the wall separating the roof from the air. She smirked.

"What are you going to do? You can't jump," she cackled. I shifted my footing.

"You just watch me," I yelled and leapt off of the wall, ignoring the sickness that was about to erupt from me. Now, you're probably thinking, _well that was a stupid idea. Now you're dead_ and truthfully, part of me was. However, I'd seen a balcony about a metre or so below us. It was quite small, but I thought that I could possibly land on it, grab the Moroi and get away. Rose had given me running training, and now I saw the use in it. I also saw the use in her teaching me how to jump. Who knew she would've become so wise? I watched the smirk fall from Lauren's features at the same time as I fell. She looked extremely surprised that I'd actually done it. And, admittedly, so was I. I'd just completely surpassed the limits for craziness. When she looked down though, and saw me standing there, alive and well on the balcony, she roared in fury and disappeared from sight. I sprinted down the corridors, banging on doors when suddenly I tripped and stumbled. Lauren was on me in a flash. She yanked me by my hair and I let out a scream. Pinning me down, her fangs neared my neck, and I realised that these would likely be my last moments, seeing as I was losing this fight. How come I'd been able to pin Dimitri but not a seven year old girl? True she was Strigoi, but still. I should've slept by taking it in turns with Adrian. Dammit. However, if I was going to go out, I would go in glory. I elbowed her in the eye and she squealed. Using this distraction, I rolled over on top of her. I would have to name that move. The Hathaway move. It was very effective. We grappled with each other and I gave her a good jab in the face. I fumbled for my stake, carefully manoeuvring myself so I didn't let it roll away. She was still fighting back though. I shifted so that I was actually sat on her, triumphantly. I lifted my stake and her eyes widened in horror. Then, I plunged it into her heart. She gurgled and then fell silent. Hah. That would teach her not to mess with Amy Hathaway. These Strigoi didn't know who they were up against. However, as I sat there, the full situation came crashing down on me. I'd just murdered. She was a Strigoi, but she'd been Moroi once. I'd killed someone. I had no idea where Adrian was either. As I stared at the lifeless body, I suddenly felt myself collapse. I laid my head against her chest, my fist curled around the stake that was still stuck in her heart. Tears leaked out of my eyes, but I was still wide and alert for any oncoming danger. Not that I would've been able to fight it. I was exhausted. I don't know how long I lay there, but suddenly another two Strigoi were fighting in the corridor. Only, they weren't going for me. Rose was there, and within five seconds, they were down. She wasted no time, wiping her stake on one of their shirts before kneeling beside me. Another two guardians huffed their way up the stairs, one of whom was Dimitri.

"Amy," Rose asked gently. "Are you okay?" I looked at her, that hero's face, with all traces of murderous emotions wiped away and shook my head meekly. The other guardian chipped in.

"Is that Strigoi dead?" I nodded. His eyes widened when he saw the stake in my hand. Questions continued like this, as the other guardians crowded around. Some unknown Moroi and dhampirs filtered in from the rooms, and it was all a commotion focusing on me. I just wanted to sleep.

"Where..." I croaked. Swallowing, I tried again. "Where's Adrian?"

"In the car," Rose replied. "He's okay. And so are you. Come on. We need to get back to the Academy." And, for the second time in my life, Dimitri swept me up in his arms. We jogged towards the cars and I was laid in the back seat. It was comfortable and I soon felt my lids closing. My last conscious thought before I blanked out was a quote I'd once heard from Dimitri. _We all fall down at times, but we've just got to learn to pick ourselves back up again otherwise we'll never get anywhere._


	24. Chapter 24  Awakening

When I woke up, I was in the school's medical room. A kind looking woman was blocking my vision.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Olendski," she stated.

"Hi," I mumbled.

"How are you feeling?" That was a good question. How_ was_ I feeling? Pretty depressed actually. In shock. Confused. Although, I had a feeling she'd rather know about my injuries.

"Fine."

"You had a couple of pretty bad injuries in there. You're extremely lucky."

"In where?"

"The...Strigoi house? Don't you remember? Oh dear, I hope you don't have concussion." Suddenly, yesterday's events came back to me. I felt conscious of my own body again, and lifted a hand to my head. There was a lump there.

"Ouch," I groaned.

"Yes. You've also got several bruises and cuts, which are easily taken care of, and your ankle seems a little bit odd, but not sprained. What did you do? Jump off a windowsill?"

"Near enough. Oh God. Is Adrian okay? He was with me. He didn't get caught by the Strigoi, did he?" I would've totally failed my guardian duties if he did.

"No. He's resting in his room." Thank God. "You have a visitor." She left the room and the door swung behind her. I saw Rose, Lissa and Dimitri stood in the entrance. Rose, of course, strode in first. Lissa scurried behind me.

"Amy," she began. "What you did was...brilliant. But, I have a purpose here today." Rose gritted her teeth as Lissa placed her hand on my ankle. I was suddenly flooded with warmth. My entire body tingled and I felt so alive. It was a brilliant feeling. When she moved away, a beaming smile on her face, I realised she'd healed me with her spirit magic.

"Thank you," I breathed. I couldn't believe it. My mind had cleared completely now, all traces of pain and exhaustion gone. I felt like I could do 12 laps of the field.

"I need to be somewhere now. Guardian Petrov will come and see you to talk about your ceremony." She waltzed off and Dimitri sank into the chair beside me. I sat up and leaned me head against the wall.

"What ceremony?"

"The one where you get your _molnija_," Rose declared.

"I get a _molnija_?"

"Of course. You killed a Strigoi, which we need to talk about."

"Oh Rose, I'm sorry. There was this person and she looked just like you. And I mean exactly like you and she lead me there and..."

"Ssh, it's okay. We can talk about it later, but right now you need to rest."

"Aww, come on. I don't need rest. You know how it feels. When Lissa heals you, you feel so alive, like you can do anything."

"But you can't."

"I bet you wouldn't like if you were in this situation, would you?" She continued to stare at me. "I'll take that as a 'no', then. Come on, dude. Let me out." With a lot of pleading, I finally managed to escape the medical centre, only to find myself trapped with them again, but this time in the gym.

"So. How did you do it?" Rose began.

"Well, the Strigoi wasn't very clever. If they were clever, they would've locked the doors and taken away my stake."

"You had a stake?" Dimitri asked

"Sure. Rose always keeps a spare one in the glove pocket of the car."

"And they left the doors unlocked?"

"Yeah. It was like a giant dolls house for this little Strigoi girl called Lauren. Apparently, she had her Dad build it so that there was no way of creating a fire, no silver and nothing sharp. We were allowed to roam free, as long as we didn't escape. We were used as feeders. Some people there were delirious."

"What was your plan, then?" Rose wondered.

"Well, before I found out about the door, I was just going to attack whoever came in. But after that, I got Adrian to find you in a dream. We then went exploring and, if we got into a tough situations, I had a stake and Adrian had a cigarette lighter." They both gasped.

"You were going to set a Strigoi alight with _a cigarette lighter?_"

"Of course. Why not?"

"In case you burn down the building," they exclaimed, like it was obvious. I looked at them sheepishly.

"Well, it's lucky we didn't then."

"Why didn't your plan work?"

"What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?" When they didn't answer, I added, "We got trapped. Pardon me for sinning." Rose almost smiled but Dimitri stayed deadly serious.

"So, what did you do?"

"Um, I fought her for a bit and jumped off the roof..." I tried to act casual about it, but I saw Dimitri's eyes bug out of their sockets.

"You jumped off of the roof? Why?" he asked, his voice high with anxiety. Rose laughed.

"There was a ledge. I didn't just jump five storeys to the floor below. What do you think I am, stupid?" He didn't answer. "Hey, not cool!" I think it pained him to say these next words, but he carried on anyway, "What next?"

"Well, I kind of tripped over," Rose groaned but I ignored her, "and she almost bit me, but I did that thing with my elbow where I poked her in the eye and rolled over. I think we should name it. So anyway, I sat on her, staked her and that was the end."

"You sat on her?"

"Sure. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Pin her like a normal person."

"I'm not normal. Haven't you realised that?"

"How about after that?" Oh. This was the difficult bit.


	25. Chapter 25  Ceremony

"Well, I uh," I faltered, not entirely sure how to explain it. It was difficult to understand. How could I explain the grief I felt? If I said I feel sorry for the Strigoi I killed, they'd tell me I was mad. I had been, there was no other way to explain it, turmoil. Confused at how I'd gotten into this mess. Pleased at my triumph. Scared just in case other Strigoi came. Anxious because I'd lost Adrian. Exhausted after my fighting. Depressed because I was a murderer. Anticipating praise. I didn't know. I couldn't explain that to them, but I'm sure that my expression was enough. Rose caught me off guard by putting her arm around me.

"I know," she murmured. "I understand." And I remembered that she killed her first two Strigoi when she was seventeen, and they'd killed one of her friends just minutes before. So I buried y face in her shoulder and wept. I don't know how long we sat like that, but neither of us seemed uncomfortable with the contact, which was odd considering who we were. Dimitri seemed at loss, but I couldn't bring myself to move away, out of the safety and security that was Rose's embrace. Because, right now, although it sounded really sad, I really wanted my mother. The adoptive one that I knew. Eventually, Rose's shirt was completely saturated with salt water. I felt embarrassed at crying in front of people, so I wiped my eyes fiercely and tried to put on a brave face. It felt fake. My _molnija_ ceremony was tomorrow, and I'd have to prepare myself for that. I would also be excused from classes for a few days, and then it would be Lewis' party. I didn't know whether I could be bothered to go. I trudged away and sat in my room, listening to music. I didn't have dinner. I didn't want any. It seemed stupid to waste my time on it when I should be training so that I wouldn't get in a situation like that again.

In the morning, there was a brief knock at my door. I yanked a brush through my hair and pulled it open to reveal somebody presenting me with clothes.

"Erm, thanks?" I muttered and she stalked off down the hall. I opened out the clothes on my bed. There was a long sleeved white blouse with black slacks and one of those jackets things without the arms. It was also jet black. I recognised it as a slightly younger, modern and fashionable version of the formal guardian attire. Inside the trouser leg, there was a small note. On it, Rose had written: _wear these. They should fit you well. Put your hair up and be in the main hall by 9pm._ I quickly checked the clock. 8pm. I showered and slipped on the clothes. She was right; they were perfect. I considered tying my hair up in a normal ponytail, but then wound it round into a bun. I didn't want it getting in the way for the tattooist. The small wisps of hair I could do nothing about. I slipped on Lewis' bracelet and headed towards the main hall. Lots of people were already gathered there: the few guardians that had been invited, my mum and dad, Lissa, Rose, Dimitri, the tattooist and Jill. She smiled encouragingly and waved. I was just heading up when I saw Adrian slip in through the door. The _molnija_ was tattooed on the nape of my neck but he left space for my promise mark next year. I bit my lip against the pain and then he put a bandage over it. It was really itchy. Afterwards, I mingled with the others like a good host. I received several "Welcome to the ranks" and stuff, but no congratulations. I understood. It wasn't really a thing to say congratulations to. It was a burden. Jill gave me a fierce hug and Adrian thanked me for saving his life. I'd never seen him look so respectful of someone, and I had to resist the urge to laugh. When I caught eyes with Rose, she had a similar look on her face. There was a tap on my shoulder and I whirled around to see Abe standing there.

"Wow," he exclaimed. "Both my daughters are immensely brilliant Strigoi killers and extremely famous." Rose glared at him.

"Famous?" I asked.

"Of course," Janine chimed in. "Rose for the most _molnija _marks before graduation and the best graduation trials ever seen. Her story is in all the books." Rose looked on the verge of staking her. "And you will be too, you know. For the youngest every Strigoi kill."

"Seriously?"

"You're only fifteen. How many people that are fifteen do you know that have killed Strigoi."

"None."

"There you go then." She and Abe wandered off and Rose shot evils at their backs.

"Mothers. Who wants them?" she grumbled.

"I like _my _mother," Dimitri offered.

"Your Mum's nice."

"So is yours." She rolled her eyes and I smiled.

I rang my adoptive mother later that night, to tell her the news. I think I was growing out of my mother, although there were still times when I needed her. One of them being now. She was full of praised and full of anxiety. I was chastised a lot. "Why did you go off with a stranger?" "Look what you've gotten yourself into." And then, "Please come home."

I hated to tell that pleading voice, "No."


	26. Chapter 26   Fireworks

Finally, the day of the party came. In the afternoon, there was a knock on the door. I peered out to see Jill holding a package.

"I, er, bought this for you. Kind of as a congratulations type present. I hope you like it," she stammered before scurrying off.

"Hey, Jill!" I called. She turned back. "You didn't have to get me something, you know."

"Oh, it's not much. I just thought you might like it."

"Well, thanks." I hugged her awkwardly and then she left me alone again. I unwrapped the paper to reveal some gorgeous scarlet material. Unfolding it, I saw that it was a dress. It was ankle length and had straps, but the back of the dress didn't actually begin until halfway down my spine. I slipped in on, and the silky feeling was like heaven. It fit perfectly, and I loved it. I presumed that Jill wanted me to wear it to the dance tonight. It was only three hours away. I showered and cleaned myself up, brushing my hair obsessively so that it wouldn't stick up. However, after I'd applied some mascara, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and wasn't sure that I wanted to go.

_You have to go. Go for Jill. And Lewis wants you to go._ But I just couldn't seem to get up off my bed and out the door. I sat there alone, pondering my decision before officially deciding that I wasn't going. Jill would understand. I was going through a tough time. A little while later, there was a knock at my door. Lewis McGugan stood there, staring at me.

"Are you..." he couldn't seem to form a sentence. "Are you coming to the party?"

"I, well, I don't know. I can't really go there amongst all that gossip. It'll ruin your birthday." I'd left my hand on the handle, so it surprised me when he put his on top. I felt a tingle of electricity run up my arm, and I wondered if he did too. His eyes were wide, staring at our hands, so I assumed so.

"What'll ruin my birthday is you not coming." That made me feel bad. I left the door open and plonked myself on the bed. He followed me and closed the door softly behind him. I heard it brush against the carpet. "You've changed." His tone was accusing.

"No, I haven't. I haven't changed at all."

"You have. Your eyes...they look in pain. Awful. You need to get over it and live your life."

"I can't." My voice was down to a whisper now.

"You have to pick yourself back up again. If you break down every time you kill a Strigoi, you'll be a rubbish guardian." He had a point.

"How? Tell me how."

"Forgive yourself." I'd heard Rose say it so many times. Forgive yourself. She did it, after she tried to kill Dimitri. He did it after he was Strigoi. Why couldn't I? I squeezed my eyes shut and, when I reopened them, he was staring at me. "You're beautiful, do you know that?" And then he pressed his lips onto mine. And I swear, I'm not being corny here, that fireworks were crackling around us. Okay, so maybe they were from the party outside, but still. It was magical. I was sure he felt it too. His hands were warm on my back where the dress wasn't quite there yet, and the feeling spread right through my body, even to my toes. It was wonderful. He pulled back and his eyes were burning with love. He took my hand and we headed to the thumping music below. My heart raced and I thought for one second that the World actually could be a good place. Of course, I dismissed it as soon as it happened, but some people get their happy endings. Let's hope that I'm one of them.

**Wow. I've actually finished a story. Do you know that's never happened before? Thank you to everyone for your support on this epic journey. Amy and I have had a great time. Thanks especially to Lucyy96. If you guys would like me to continue with Amy's story, please review and give me some ideas! Thanks. **** LissasGuardian756**


	27. Chapter 27 Evening Shadows

**OKAY GUYS! If you'd like some more Amy action, please read Evening Shadows, the sequel! Thanks so much for all your support! **

**Evening Shadows Excerpt:**

I tied up my hair and put on a scarlet cap that I'd got when I went to France. I was wearing a thin purple vest top and denim shorts for the hot summer's day. Or night. Montana was freezing in winter but boiling in summer. Lewis' hand was in mine, and we were heading towards the field, where the guardians had set up an arena for the trials. The novices in the year above us were doing their graduation trials which would help determine which Moroi they would guard in the upcoming year. The bleachers had been set up around the area to shelter the Moroi from the sun. Even though it was 7pm, the sun wouldn't go down until about 10pm. We climbed up and settled in a seat beside Jill. I licked a chocolate ice cream and watched carefully as the first novice took their place. This was going to be so exciting. As the fight began, I found myself analyzing what they were doing. There were a lot of techniques that I hadn't learnt yet. Rose had been training me these past couple of months and I think I'd finally mastered staking and dodging. My latest encounter with a Strigoi was not pleasant and, even though I'd succeeded in killing it, it had taken its toll on me. Especially as I had been seconds away from being responsible for the death of Adrian Ivashkov, former queen's great nephew. Lewis and I watched carefully as the person out there battled against the guardians playing as 'Strigoi'. She was quite good actually. There was one time when she was balancing on a log about three feet above the ground, though they'd been told to treat it as eleven, a distance that would kill them if they fell off. The 'Strigoi' she was against was Rose, and she was _not_ easy to beat, as I well knew. Especially on a tiny log. The girl, whose name was Anna, struck out with one fist, and Rose deflected it, not realising that she'd gone for her shoulder with the other one. She stumbled backwards. Huh, I'd have to use that one some day. Rose holds the best trials ever, which would have been amazing to watch. I had a feeling that Abe had recorded it, so I would have to watch it some time. Anna used her advantage to knock Rose back a little bit more, and then she knocked her off. It wasn't going to get her a very good score, as she didn't 'kill' her, but at least she'd evaded being 'killed' herself. We watched some more people. One person slipped on the log and landed, straddling it with one leg either side. Ouch. He still managed to 'kill' Rose, which was a brilliant achievement considering his position. I looked at Rose, who caught my eye, and I could've sworn that, although she was wearing that typical I'm-a-guardian-I-have-no-emotions mask, she would've been doubled over with laughter if we were in practice. We watched a couple of people fail their trials, a few excel it, and many just pass. Alberta, head of the guardians, came out to announce the ending.

"Please can all novices and guardians come to the main hall now. Yes, that does include those who aren't graduating," she announced.

"I'll take that as our cue to go," I said, pulling Lewis up with me. We said our goodbyes to Jill, who was heading to her dorm room with another friend. Wandering to the hall, Lewis asked me, "Are you nervous?"

"About what?"

"The trials when we do them next year. They look really difficult."

"Well, yeah. But we'll learn so much more this year and then we'll be able to do it, right?"

"I figured you wouldn't be nervous, what with your _molnija_ mark and everything."

"Just because I've killed a Strigoi doesn't mean I'm good at it. You didn't see me after then. I was a right state." A haunted look came over his eyes and I wondered what he was seeing. I didn't mean to make him upset, so I tried to change the subject. "That Ben guy was good though, wasn't he?"

"Was he the guy that fell on the log in the most awkward position ever?"

"Yeah, and he still managed to 'kill' Rose. I think he was amazing."

"Oh, dude, he was just funny!" He laughed and we entered the hall. Taking our seats, the new graduates line dup against the wall. There were about one hundred of them. This would be a long wait. I felt sorry for them, having to wait through all of that without moving or itching the back of their necks. I knew well how much the tattoos hurt even after they were on. There were a few gasps in the crowd as Ben's score was read out. He was definitely in the top ten trials of all time, and I was pleased for him. He deserved it. Eventually, the last person was tattooed, and they walked out towards whatever ceremonies were going on. I picked out Rose in the crowds and we walked over.

"You were great out there," I complimented her.

"I got beaten ten times!" she laughed.

"Isn't that a good thing? It means the new novices will be good."

"Yeah, I guess so. This is the guinea pig year, though. They only created the age decree last summer, so these guys had a lot to catch up with."

"I can imagine." I'd had to catch up five years, but with Rose as my teacher, I managed.

"Well, I've got to go. Alberta wants me for something. Probably cleaning." She pulled a face and jogged off, leaving me and Lewis alone in the now deserted hall. It was surprising how quickly it had gone down.


End file.
